Norman Hallam (composer)

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Norman Hallam (born 9 October 1945) is an English clarinetist and the composer of the Dance Suite for wind quintet.

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Born in Coventry, Hallam studied the clarinet from the age of 11, [1] studying with Michael Saxton, then principal clarinet with the BBC Midland Orchestra. He continued his studies at the Birmingham School of Music with Saxton and composition with Allan Hawthorne-Baker (1909-1977). He attended the Royal Academy of Music in London from 1964 until 1968. After two years as a freelancer he joined the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra in 1970 as 2nd Clarinet under Kevin Banks, [2] staying there until 1999 when he retired for health reasons. Hallam was also a member of the Canzona Wind Quintet from the mid-1970s until the mid-1980s. [3]

His best known composition is the Dance Suite (1980) for wind ensemble (flute, oboe, clarinet, horn and bassoon), which was written for Canzona. [4] It has four movements: Waltz, Bossa Nova, Quickstep and Charleston. [5] Other pieces include a Fantasy for four horns and a Fantasy for unaccompanied clarinet (1992), which has been performed by Michael Whight. [6] His jazz-influenced Clarinet Concerto, premiered in October 1998, was composed for Kevin Banks, who performed it twice (at Cheltenham and Poole). Banks has described the difficulties of the piece as "fiendish". [7]

Hallam contacted polio in 1949 at the age of four, and has used a wheelchair all his life. [3] [1] He married his second wife Sally (a viola player) in the early-1980s, and they have a son and daughter. [8]

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 'Norman (11) spends six happy days', Coventry Evening Telegraph, 30 April 1957, p. 9
  2. ↑ John Stolls. 'Man with a noted win over polio', Coventry Evening Telegraph, 29 September 1970, p. 10
  3. 1 2 Arthur Hallam biography, Camden Music
  4. ↑ Max Derrickson. Program notes for Two Rivers Chamber Orchestra concert, 16 March 2024
  5. ↑ Recorded by The Galliard Ensemble on Opus Number Zoo: Twentieth century wind quintets, Deux-Elles DXL 1025 (2002)
  6. ↑ Fantasy for Solo Clarinet, performed by Michael Whight, 2014
  7. ↑ Interview with Kevin Banks, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, 2018
  8. ↑ 'The talented musician who has overcome all the odds', Coventry Evening Telegraph, 14 October 1998, p. 6
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