Piers Hellawell (born 14 July 1956) is a British composer and professor of composition, currently residing in Northern Ireland.

Biography

Hellawell grew up in England and studied composition with James Wood[1] and later Nicholas Maw at the University of Oxford.[2] At the age of 24, he was appointed as Composer-in-Residence at Queens University, Belfast where, in 2002, he was made Professor of Composition.[3] His music is published by Edition Peters Ltd, based in London. From 2000 to 2003, Hellawell held the Gresham Chair of Music in the City of London.[4] Hellawell's works are represented by the ECM (New Series), NMC and Metier labels and on Metronome Label.[5]

Musical works

In 1999, Hellawell wrote Inside Story, which was premiered at the Proms and led to a CD featuring the piece alongside other recent major works on the Metronome Label in 2002.[6] This CD was named BBC Music Magazine CD of the Month. In the same year, the Hilliard Ensemble and the Ostrobothnian Chamber Orchestra also premiered his piece The Pear Tree of Nicostratus at the Kaustinen Festival in Finland.[7]

Two years later, his piece Cons de chasse was premiered by the Philharmonia Orchestra with Håkan Hardenberger and Jonas Bylund at the Brighton Festival. Following his work with the Hilliard Ensemble, he wrote a set of pieces The Hilliard Songbook which referenced their ECM records album from 1996.[8] In the same year, the songbook played a part in their 30th Anniversary celebrations which was given at the Wigmore Hall in London. In the same year, his piece Degrees of Separation was composed for the opening of The Sage Gateshead. Sound Carvings from the Bell Foundry was premiered by Stockholm Chamber Brass in Norway and Ireland in 2006, which marked Hellawell's 50th birthday[9]

In 2008, Hellawell worked with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales and the clarinettist Robert Plane in creating a piece Agricolas, premiered at the Vale of Glamorgan Festival that year.[4] Two years following this, his piano piece Syzygy was performed by William Howard at the Spitalfields Festival in London. In 2013, he was commissioned by the Swedish Chamber Orchestra and the Stockholm Kammarbrass Syzygy which was premiered in the spring of that year and supported the Leverhulme Fellowship.[10]

In 2015, his work Wild Flow (for orchestra) became a major commission for the 2016 BBC Proms based in London.[11] To mark his 60th birthday in 2016, he was appointed a residency at the Great Lakes Festival in Detroit in June of that year. He also had works performed at the Cheltenham International Festival the following month.

Awards

Piers Hellawell has been commissioned by many leading international ensembles such as the Hilliard Ensemble, the Philharmonia Orchestra, Stockholm Chamber Brass, Swedish Chamber Orchestra, Hard Rain SoloistEnsemble and the Schubert Ensemble.[12] His music has been performed around the world and has also encountered regular collaborations and engagements with the BBC Proms.[13]

List of works

Orchestral

Ensemble

Solo instrumental

Vocal and choral

Two Madrigals and a Motet (2015) – Commissioned by Singer Pur Ensemble, Germany

References

  1. ^ "Piers Hellawell". www.piershellawell.com. Retrieved 7 June 2019.
  2. ^ "ClassicalPlus Composer – Piers Hellawell". classicalplus.gmn.com. Retrieved 7 June 2019.
  3. ^ "Professor. Piers Hellawell – Queen's University Belfast Research Portal – Research Directory & Institutional Repository for QUB". pure.qub.ac.uk. Retrieved 21 October 2019.
  4. ^ a b "Piers Hellawell". www.gresham.ac.uk. Retrieved 21 October 2019.
  5. ^ "Hellawell: Sound Carvings". Metronome. Retrieved 21 October 2019.
  6. ^ "Hellawell, Piers | NMC Recordings". www.nmcrec.co.uk. Retrieved 7 June 2019.
  7. ^ "Composer". www.editionpeters.com. Retrieved 21 October 2019.
  8. ^ "Metronome – Piers Hellawell". Metronome. Retrieved 21 October 2019.
  9. ^ Guest (9 January 2013). "Hellawall Sound Carvings". www.gramophone.co.uk. Retrieved 21 October 2019.
  10. ^ "Piers Hellawell". Contemporary Music Centre. 20 September 2018. Retrieved 21 October 2019.
  11. ^ "Piers Hellawell/Shostakovich/ Prokofiev". BBC Music Events. Retrieved 21 October 2019.
  12. ^ "Piers Hellawell with Bourne Davis Kane | NMC Recordings". www.nmcrec.co.uk. Retrieved 21 October 2019.
  13. ^ "Piers Hellawell". www.piershellawell.com. Retrieved 7 June 2019.
  14. ^ "Piers Hellawell – Publications – Queen's University Belfast Research Portal – Research Directory & Institutional Repository for QUB". pure.qub.ac.uk. Retrieved 21 October 2019.
Categories