London. 4 December. Composers Sally Beamish and Trevor Wishart will be honoured at this year’s British Composer Awards (4 December) with both composers being presented with a Gift of BASCA Award in recognition of their contributions to music throughout their careers to date.
Sally Beamish will be presented with the British Composer Award for Inspiration (presented in association with the Music Publishers Association) in recognition of her long and distinguished career as a composer, violist and pianist. The multi-award-winning composer has composed a huge volume of music throughout her career, including for orchestra, chamber and instrumental music, film, theatre, ballet, and compositions for amateurs and has been nominated four times for British Composer Awards.
Her work for orchestra includes two symphonies and several concertos (for violin, viola, cello, oboe, saxophone, saxophone quartet, trumpet, percussion, flute and accordion). Beamish was also selected as one of twenty composers to participate in the New Music 20×12 project as part of the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad. The resulting piece, Spinal Chords, was an instant success with audiences and critics alike. Employing the unique sound of period strings, Sally crafted an unsettling, constantly shifting accompaniment to journalist Melanie Reid’s inspirational account of her struggle with disability. In December 2017 Northern Ballet premiered The Little Mermaid, a full-length ballet with her orchestral score. Sally Beamish is currently composer-in-residence with the Academy of St Martin-in-the-Fields, for whom she is writing two substantial works, and is currently writing her fourth string quartet for the Elias Quartet.
Trevor Wishart will be presented with a British Composer Award for Innovation in recognition of his commitment to innovation throughout his musical career. With a particular focus on translating the human voice and natural sounds into music through the use of technology, Wishart is a pioneer of sonic art. The winner of numerous international awards, Wishart has written extensively on the topic of sonic art and computer music – including On Sonic Art (1996) and Audible Design (1994) – and has created a number of original software tools for musical composition. He is a founder member of the Composer’s Desktop Project.
Beamish and Wishart will be honoured at the British Composer Awards 2018, alongside this year’s winners across 12 categories. The British Composer Awards take place at the British Museum in London on Tuesday 4th December.
Celebrating the art of composition and showcasing the creative talent of contemporary composers and sound artists, the British Composer Awards are presented by BASCA and sponsored by PRS for Music. The event is in association with BBC Radio 3 providing exclusive broadcast coverage.
For more information on this year’s British Composer Awards visit www.britishcomposerawards.com or follow @ComposerAwards.
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