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| Andrew McBirnie |
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Dr McBirnie combines an active career as a composer with the position of Chief Examiner in Music at LCM Examinations, Thames Valley University which he began in December 2002 following on from being Director of Music at The Oratory School, near Reading.  Sonatina for Brass, Ritornel Sonatina for Brass |
Biographical NotesAndrew McBirnie was born in 1971 in Portsmouth, UK. He read music at the University of Bristol (BA with first class honours, 1992) followed by postgraduate study in composition at the Royal Academy of Music in London (MMus 1994, PhD 1997). Since leaving full-time education he has combined his work as a composer with a career in education and assessment. Between 1997 and 2002 he taught music in independent schools, firstly at Longridge Towers School in Northumberland and then and then at The Oratory School in Reading, where he was Director of Music from 1999 to 2002. In December 2002 he took up the position of Chief Examiner in Music for London College of Music Examinations at Thames Valley University, where he has also taught on the BMus course. Former teachers include David Penri-Evans, Adrian Beaumont, Melanie Daiken and, most importantly and influentially, Justin Connolly. He also studied at Tanglewood as a Fellow in Composition, with Henri Dutilleux and George Perle; and at Dartington, with Peter Sculthorpe. As a composer, Dr McBirnie has worked in the fields of opera, orchestral, instrumental, choral, vocal and educational music. His music has been performed widely in Britain, Europe, the US, Canada, Australia and the Asia Pacific region, by artists and ensembles including the London Sinfonietta / Martyn Brabbins, the BBC Singers / Simon Joly, the BBC Philharmonic / Martyn Brabbins, the RAM Symphony Orchestra / Elgar Howarth, the Bennelong Ensemble, Harlequin, and Onyx Brass. continue |
His music has been broadcast several times on BBC radio and television, and he was a composer finalist in the BBC Young Musician of the Year in 1993. Two pieces, Sonatina for Brass (1995) and Variation for Joanne Johnson (1997) have been recorded on CD (IMCD 058 / FAND 102). The Trio I for clarinet, cello and piano (1988) is published by Breitkopf & Härtel. In March 2002, a concert featuring four of Dr McBirnie's chamber works was held at The Warehouse, London. More recently, the ensemble Rarescale has been active in promoting his work for quarter-tone alto flute and piano, The Moon by Night (2001), including performances in London, Nottingham, Edinburgh, Manchester and New York.. A new piece for solo oboe, Prayer (2004/5), was premièred by Julian West at the Purcell Room, London, in April 2005, at a concert given by the Continuum Ensemble celebrating the chamber music of Henri Dutilleux, followed by a second performance in Cambridge. Ritornel (2000; rev. 2001), for septet, was awarded 'Honourable Mention' in the 2005 Salvatore Martirano Award, and was performed by the University of Illinois New Music Ensemble at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, in November 2005. The Sonatina for Brass (1995) was performed by the Faculty Brass Quintet of l'Université Laval in Quebec City in November 2005, as part of the 2005 National Conference of the College Music Society. He is married to Abigail, a clarinettist, and they live in South Oxfordshire. Selected Works |
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