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LukeBedfordBiographyUniversalEdition

UniversalEditionLukeBedfordBiography

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LukeBedford
Biography

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LukeBedfordwasbornin1978andstudiedcompositionattheRoyalCollegeofMusicwithEdwinRoxburghandSimon
Bainbridge,followingaFoundationScholarship.HethengainedasubsequentscholarshiptostudyforaMastersdegreeatthe
RoyalAcademyofMusic,againwithSimonBainbridge,withfundsprovidedbytheRVWTrust,theCountessofMunsterMusical
Trust,andthe2000MendelssohnScholarship.
In2001,theLondonSinfoniettapremiredFiveAbstractsachamberworkfor14players.ABBCcommissionfollowedRode
withDarkness,aworkforlargeorchestra,whichwaspremiredbytheHallOrchestraunderMarkElderinJanuary2004.The
workreceiveditsGermanpremireinJanuary2005fromtheDeutschesSymphonieOrchesterconductedbyGeorgeBenjamin.
InFebruary2006,SlowMusicandManShootsStrangersFromSkyscraperbothforanensembleof8playerswere
performedbythePhilharmoniaaspartoftheir"MusicofToday"series.
Laterthatyear,thesongcycleOrVoitToutEnAventurewaspremiredbytheLondonSinfoniettawithClaireBooth(soprano)
andOliverKnussen.ThesixmovementsoftheworkaresettingsofthreetextswritteninmedievalFrenchandItalian,whichare
linkedinthematicwaysbythemusic.Withcriticsclaimingthatit"stoletheshow"atthefirstperformanceandhowstartled
theywereatthematurityofthemusic,ithassincereceivedmanyfurtherperformances,includingatouracrossEuropeby
EnsembleModernwithAnuKomsiandGeorgeBenjamin.
TheorchestralworkOutblazetheSkywascommissionedbytheLondonSymphonyOrchestraaspartoftheir"Sound
Adventures"seriesandpremiredattheBarbicaninApril2007withDanielHarding.Thetitleisinspiredbythecomposersown
readingareworkingofaphraseinD.M.ThomasTheWhiteHotel,whichhereadwhilstcomposingthiswork.Bedfordwas
particularlyinspiredbythe"dreamlikeandhighlycharged"poemnearthestartofthenovel,whichseemedincertainwaysto
haveparallelswiththemusicthathewaswriting.
CommissionedbytheBBCNationalOrchestraofWales,WreathewaspremiredinDecember2007,conductedbyThierry
Fischer.Creatingaworkfiftypercentlongerthananythinghehadpreviouslywritten,Bedfordwaskeennotto"preplanthe
actualshapeofthepiece,buttodiscoveritfromthematerial[he]wasworkingwith."Extraweightwasgiventothelowest
orchestralregisterthroughtheuseofacontrabassoonandcontrabassclarinet.Thesedarkercharacteristicsdominatemuchof
themusic,althoughtheirintroductionisgradual,appearing"afterthepredominanceofmiddleandupperregistersatthe
openingofthepiece."
BedfordscommissionfromtheBirminghamContemporaryMusicGroup,GoodDreamSheHas,receiveditspremireinApril
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2008.Thepieceisscoredforanensembleof15playersandthreesolosingers,thetextbeingarewritingofMiltonsParadise
Lost.OliverKnussenconductedthefirstperformanceattheCBSOcentre.
ContinuingtheMiltonthemeaspartoftheircelebrationsofMiltons400thanniversarytheSingAkademiezuBerlinrecently
premiredBedfordslatestcompositionOnTime,thetexttakenandadaptedfromthepoemofthesamename.KaiUweJirka
ledtheBerlinSingakademieandKammersymphonieBerlininthecomposersfirstEuropeanworldpremireon5thJuly2008.
Hisaccoladesinclude"Thebestpiecebyacomposerunder30"atthe2005InternationalRostrumforComposersinVienna,the
BBCRadio3"ListenersPrize"atthe2004BritishComposerAwardsandtheRoyalPhilharmonicSocietys"CompositionPrizefor
composersunder29"in2000.
OrVoitToutEnAventurewasnominatedfortheLargeScaleCompositionAwardatthe2007RoyalPhilharmonicSociety
Awards,andBedfordwasrecentlytherecipientofaprestigiousPaulHamlynArtistsAward.WreathewontheBritishComposer
Awardintheorchestralcategoryin2008.
AspartoftheEnsembleModernsIntoproject,BedfordspentamonthinJohannesburgin2008,resultinginthecomposition
ofBytheScreenintheSunattheHillontheGold,whichwaspremiredinBerlinandFrankfurtinMarch2009.PiMosso
waspremiredbytheCBSOYouthOrchestraconductedbyThomasSndergrdinNovember2009.
In2010,theHallOrchestragavetheworldpremireofhiswork,AtThreeandTwo,aspartoftheirMahlerinManchester
series.
BedfordsfirstoperaSevenAngels,basedonMiltonsParadiseLostwaspremiredin2011bytheOperaGroupandthe
BirminghamContemporaryMusicGroup.
BedfordwasthefirstevercomposerinresidenceattheWigmoreHallinLondon,whichhasearnedhimseveralcommissions,
includingthestringquartetNineLittleBoxes,AllCarefullyPacked(2011).
InFeburary2012WonderfulTwoHeadedNightingalewasgivenitsworldpremirebytheScottishEnsemble.Bedfordwas
awardedtheErnstvonSiemensMusikstiftungComposersPrizeinmusicinthesameyear,andtheworldpremiresof
WonderfulNoHeadedNightingaleandThreeIntermezzitookplace.
On28October2013,theArdittiStringQuartetperformedtheworldpremireofWonderfulFourHeadedNightingalefor
stringquartetatWienModern.
In2014,hishighlyacclaimedoperaThroughHisTeeth(libretto:DavidHarrower)waspremiredattheRoyalOperaHouse.

LukeBedfordshortbiography
LukeBedfordwasbornin1978andstudiedcompositionattheRoyalCollegeofMusicwithEdwinRoxburghandSimon
Bainbridge.
Hisworksrangefromchambergroups(e.g.thestringquartetOftheAir),toensemble,sometimeswithvoice(GoodDream
SheHasandOrVoitToutEnAventure)andtofullorchestra(OutblazetheSky,Wreathe).
TomServicewroteofOrVoitToutenAventure,thatiswas"oneofthemostoutstandingpiecesbyanyyoungcomposerI've
everexperiencedmusicofbroodingexpressiveintensityandchargedwiththatindefinablequalitythatmakesapiecesoundas
ifitwaswrittenoutofsheernecessity."
BedfordwastherecipientofaprestigiousPaulHamlynArtistsAwardin2007,andin2008WreathewonaBritishComposer
Award.2010sawtheworldpremireofAtThreeandTwobytheHallOrchestra.
BedfordsfirstoperaSevenAngels,basedonMiltonsParadiseLostwaspremiredin2011bytheOperaGroupandthe
BirminghamContemporaryMusicGroup.
BedfordwasthefirstevercomposerinresidenceattheWigmoreHallinLondon,whichhasearnedhimseveralcommissions,
includingthestringquartetNineLittleBoxes,AllCarefullyPacked(2011).
InFeburary2012WonderfulTwoHeadedNightingalewasgivenitsworldpremirebytheScottishEnsemble.Bedfordwas
awardedtheErnstvonSiemensMusikstiftungComposersPrizeinmusicinthesameyear,andtheworldpremiresof
WonderfulNoHeadedNightingaleandThreeIntermezzitookplace.
On28October2013,theArdittiStringQuartetperformedtheworldpremireofWonderfulFourHeadedNightingalefor
stringquartetatWienModern.
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In2014,hishighlyacclaimedoperaThroughHisTeeth(libretto:DavidHarrower)waspremiredattheRoyalOperaHouse.

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