David Bruce (composer)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
David Bruce (born 1970) is a British composer.
David began his undergraduate studies in music in 1988 at Nottingham University (composition tutors included Jim Fulkerson and Nicholas Sackman), before moving on to the Royal College of Music (1991-3) where he obtained a Masters Degree in Composition, studying with Tim Salter and George Benjamin; and a PhD in Composition at King's College London (1995-9), under the supervision of Sir Harrison Birtwistle.
His music has been performed by the BBC Symphony Orchestra, London Sinfonietta and many others. He has won numerous prizes, including the Royal Philharmonic Society Composition Competition in 1994. He is particularly interested in opera, having written two mini-operas, Seven Tons of Dung for Tete a Tete, and Has it Happened Yet? for ENO Studios and Tete a Tete. His full-length chamber opera, Push!, was premiered in London in June 2006 and was critics choice for new opera in 2006 in both Classical Music magazine and The Daily Telegraph
2007 brought a new commission from Carnegie Hall, Piosenki, a setting of Polish poet Julian Tuwim's children's poems for baritone, soprano and ensemble, which was premiered in Carnegie's Weill Recital Hall in April 2007, as well as a development commission for a new opera from the Royal Opera House's ROH2. Piosenki has received several further performances, and has been taken up by leading soprano Dawn Upshaw, who will perform it with the St Paul Chamber Orchestra in October 08, and with Ensemble ACJW in Carnegie's Zankel Hall in November 2008.
In 2008 David was awarded the prestigious Lili Boulanger Memorial Award, and was also commissioned a second time by Carnegie Hall, this time to write a piece for clarinetist Todd Palmer and the St Lawrence String Quartet.
