Tansy Davies

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Tansy Davies (born 29 May 1973, Bristol) is an English composer of contemporary classical music. She won the BBC Young Composers' Competition in 1996 and has written works for ensembles such as the London Symphony Orchestra, the BBC Symphony Orchestra and the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra. In 2023 she was awarded the Ivor Novello Award for Outstanding Works Collections at The Ivors Classical Award in recognition of her outstanding achievements in composition. [1]

Contents

Early life

Tansy Davies started out singing and playing guitar in a rock band. She developed an interest in composition in her teens [2] and studied composition and French horn at the Colchester Institute [3] followed by further study with Simon Bainbridge at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and with Simon Holt. Tansy Davies has been Composer-in-Residence at Royal Holloway, University of London (where she gained a PhD) and currently teaches at the Royal Academy of Music in London. [4] She also worked for three years as a freelance horn player and was a member of the Moon Velvet Collective. [3]

Commissions

Davies was a prize winner in the 1996 BBC Young Composers' Competition. [5] She has received a number of commissions from a number of organisations, for such works as the following:

Other works include Streamlines (CBSO Youth Orchestra/Paul Daniel); Contraband (Britten Sinfonia); kingpin (City of London Sinfonia), Adorned (Haugesund CO – Norway), Hinterland (Cheltenham Festival), Rift (BBC Concert Orchestra) and Elephant and Castle (a large-scale multi-media work for the 2007 Aldeburgh Festival, co-written with Warp Records DJ Mira Calix, and directed by Tim Hopkins). In February 2007, the Birmingham Contemporary Music Group and Thomas Adès gave the premiere of Falling Angel, a 20-minute commission for large ensemble in Birmingham, and at the Présences festival in Paris. Her first commission for The Proms, Wild Card for orchestra, received its world premiere in September 2010. [12]

Musical style

Davies' music is informed by the worlds of the classical avant-garde, funk and experimental rock. As well, her scores contain unusual directions, such as 'urban, muscular', 'seedy, low slung', 'stealthy' and 'solid, grinding'. Other influences on her compositions have included the architecture of Zaha Hadid, [5] in her trumpet concerto Spiral House. [13] She has also collaborated with the video artist Zara Matthews. [14]

Recordings

Davies has been the subject of three portrait CDs, Troubairitz (Nonclassical Recordings, 2011), [15] Spine (NMC Recordings, 2012), [16] and Nature (NMC, 2021). [17] Other compositions appear in various anthologies, notably on the NMC label. [18] [19] [20]

Compositions

  • The Void in This Colour (2001) – chamber ensemble of 13 players [21]
  • Inside Out ii (2003) [22]
  • Genome (2003) [14]
  • Spiral House (2004) – trumpet and orchestra
  • neon (2004) – chamber ensemble of 7 players [23]
  • Iris (2004) – soprano saxophone and chamber ensemble of 15 players [24]
  • Tilting (2005) – orchestra
  • Falling Angel (2006) – chamber ensemble of 17 players
  • Streamlines (2006) – orchestra
  • grind show (electric) – chamber ensemble of 5 players plus electronics [25]
  • kingpin (2007) – chamber orchestra
  • Adorned (2008) – strings, bass clarinet, cimbalom and harmonium
  • Hinterland (2008) – chamber ensemble [26]
  • Rift (2008) – orchestra
  • Leaf Springs (2008) [27]
  • grind show (unplugged) - (2008) [28]
  • Destroying Beauty (2008) – voice and piano [29]
  • This Love (2009) – tenor and piano [30]
  • Static (2009) – tenor and piano [31]
  • Troubairitz (2010) – soprano and percussion [32]
  • Wild Card (2010) – orchestra [33]
  • Greenhouses (2011) – female voice, alto flute, percussion and double bass [34]
  • Christmas Eve (2011) – mixed voice [34]
  • Aquatic (2011) – duet cor anglais and percussion [35]
  • Nature (2012) – concerto for piano and 10 players [36]
  • Delphic Bee (2012) – wind nonet [37]
  • Re-greening for large singing orchestra (2015)
  • Dune of Footprints for string orchestra (2017)
  • 'What did we see?' (Suite from the short opera Between Worlds) (2018)

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References

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  2. Ivan Hewett (1 February 2007). "I love to work out after a hard day composing". Telegraph. Retrieved 26 September 2010.
  3. 1 2 Tom Service (18 June 2001). "She's got the funk". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 July 2009.
  4. "A Recital for Voice and Percussion" (Press release). Royal Holloway, University of London. 19 October 2007. Retrieved 26 September 2010.
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