Oscar Bettison

Oscar Bettison
Born 1975 Edit this on Wikidata
Website http://www.oscarbettison.com/ Edit this on Wikidata

Oscar Bettison (born 19 September 1975) is a British/American composer known for large-scale chamber and large ensemble works. He has been described as possessing "a unique voice". His work has been described as having "An unconventional lyricism and a menacing beauty"[1] and "pulsating with an irrepressible energy and vitality, as well as brilliant craftsmanship."[2] He is a member of the composition faculty at the Peabody Institute.[3] Bettison has recently been named a 2017 Guggenheim Fellow by the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation.[4]

Early life and education

Bettison was born in Jersey to a British father and a Spanish/Catalan mother. He started playing and composing music at an early age and, at the age of nine joined the Purcell School in London. After completing an undergraduate at the Royal College of Music with Simon Bainbridge, he studied with Robert Saxton at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama for his Master's. In 2000, he went to the Royal Conservatory of The Hague to study with Louis Andriessen and Martijn Padding, something which Bettison describes as a "formative experience." He stayed on in The Hague to complete another Master's degree and then went to Princeton University for his PhD studying with Steven Mackey.[5] He was a fellow at both the Tanglewood Music Center and the Aspen Music Festival and School. Since 2009, he has served on the composition department of Peabody Institute.[3] His music is published by Boosey & Hawkes.[6]

Selected works

[7]

  • Presence of Absence (2016) for mezzo soprano and large ensemble[8]
  • String Quartet (2015)[9][10]
  • Sea Shaped (2014) for Orchestra[11]
  • Threaded Madrigals (2014) for solo viola[12]
  • An Automated Sunrise (for Joseph Cornell) (2014) for ensemble[13][14]
  • Livre des Sauvages (2012) for large ensemble[15][16][17]
  • Apart (2012) for percussion
  • The Afflicted Girl (2010) for ensemble[18]
  • Gauze Vespers (2008) for ensemble
  • B & E (with aggravated assault) (2006) for ensemble[19]
  • O Death (2005–07) for ensemble[20][21]

References

  1. ↑ "Soundcheck CD Picks of the Week".
  2. ↑ "Stockhausen, Cage, and Bettison at Green Umbrella concert – by Bachtrack for classical music, opera, ballet and dance event reviews".
  3. 1 2 User, Administrative. "Oscar Bettison".
  4. ↑ "John Simon Guggenheim Foundation - Oscar Bettison". www.gf.org. Retrieved 22 August 2018.
  5. ↑ "Oscar Bettison – Composer: Biography".
  6. ↑ "Boosey & Hawkes Composers, Classical Music and Jazz Repertoire".
  7. ↑ "Oscar Bettison – Composer: Works".
  8. ↑ "The Presence of Absence – Festival Dag in de Branding".
  9. ↑ "Family ties bind final Festival of Contemporary Music concerts – The Boston Globe".
  10. ↑ Kozinn, Allan (28 July 2015). "At Tanglewood, Premieres Aplenty" – via The Wall Street Journal.
  11. ↑ "Music review: Elgar rescues Berkeley Symphony's season opener".
  12. ↑ https://nyphil.org/~/media/pdfs/newsroom/1314/Biennial/ny-phil-biennial-contact-young-american-composers-final.pdf
  13. ↑ Chute, James. "Fall preview: the (classical) music of our time".
  14. ↑ Schweitzer, Vivien (28 September 2014). "James Baker Leads the Talea Ensemble at Roulette" – via The New York Times.
  15. ↑ Schultz, Rick (8 April 2012). "Odd instruments are music to composers' ears" – via Los Angeles Times.
  16. ↑ Desk, BWW News. "LA Phil New Music Group Opens the 2011/12 Green Umbrella Series".
  17. ↑ "Oscar Bettison on 'Livre des sauvages' – CSO Sounds & Stories".
  18. ↑ "Work by the People and for the People". The New York Times. 26 February 2010.
  19. ↑ Schweitzer, Vivien. "Ensemble ACJW and Brooklyn Rider - Music Review". Retrieved 22 August 2018.
  20. ↑ Kushner, Daniel J. (19 October 2011). "SONiC Snapshots: Oscar Bettison and Rebecca Stenn/Konrad Kaczmarek".
  21. ↑ "O Death – Oscar Bettison, by Ensemble Klang".
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.