Alexander Rudd

Alexander Paul Rudd (born 1981) is an English award-winning composer, songwriter and conductor working in film, television, theatre and the concert hall.

Alexander Rudd
Born (1981-09-21) 21 September 1981
OriginPreston, United Kingdom
GenresFilm scores Musical Theatre
Occupation(s)Composer, Conductor, Music producer
Instrument(s)Piano, Singer
Years active2005–present

At the age of 16, Rudd won the National Young Composer of the Year Award. He is a Fulbright Scholar[1] and studied at Trinity College of Music and the University of Southern California.[2] In 2009, Rudd received a UK Film Council Award,[3] enabling him to work and study in Los Angeles. His mentor is American composer and songwriter Randy Newman.[4]

Early life

He was a student at Our Lady's High School, Fulwood, Preston – although he also spent two years at Stonyhurst College, a Jesuit Catholic boarding school in the north of England. From the age of sixteen he worked as a pianist and singer entertainer in bars and clubs working all over the UK.[5] He studied composition at Trinity College of Music with Alwynne Pritchard who introduced him to the works of contemporary composers such as Xenakis, Ligeti, Schoenberg and Messiaen. In the evenings he worked as the resident Jazz singer and pianist at The Dorchester, Claridges[6] and The Savoy in London. He also taught the piano and worked as a musical director at James Allen Girls School in Dulwich. During this time he met composer Howard Blake who encouraged him to pursue a career as a film composer.

Music career

Rudd works across many different styles and genres. His career started in the theatre and he has composed the scores for numerous plays, including collaborations with the Royal National Theatre, The Old Vic, The Barbican, Plymouth Theatre Royal, Sheffield Theatres, Liverpool Everyman, West Yorkshire Playhouse, Watford Palace Theatre, Greenwich Theatre and Edinburgh's Traverse Theatre. Rudd was a founder member of Wild Oats, a theatre company whose aim is to 'present exciting new theatrical works to British audiences'.[7] He writes musicals and wrote 'Force 9 & ½’ with John Nicholson[8] (Peepolycus). This won a Musical Theatre Award at the Edinburgh Festival. Rudd regularly collaborates with writer and lyricist, Jenifer Toksvig. Together they have written three musicals, including 'The Stones Are Hatching',[9] which is an adaptation of the book by Geraldine McCaughrean and 'The Queen of Snow', which was commissioned by the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, Guildford.[10][11] Rudd has been a great supporter of Youth Music Theatre UK and has received several commissions from them.[12] He collaborated with Hoipolloi on their production of The Doubtful Guest[13] inspired by the book of the same name by Edward Gorey. He is very active as a film composer and is credited as composer on the Warner Brothers movie, ‘Unknown’ starring Liam Neeson.[14] In 2010, Rudd worked on the final season of Michael Giacchino's score for the hit television series "Lost". He composed and conducted the score for the award-winning short, 'Thule' directed by Robert Scott Wildes.[15][16]

Concert music

In 2005, Rudd was the featured British composer in the International Artists Workshop[17] organized by the European Union. His concert works have since been performed in Europe, UK and the US.

Selected Concert Works:

  • Amor Volat Undique

commissioned by Institut Européen de Chant Choral, premiered at the Grand Ducal Institute in Luxembourg, 2007

  • Her Number Was Not Called

Commissioned by Verin Exil in Vienna celebrating the work of Austrian beat poet, Ruth Weiss, 2006

  • Resolution

commissioned by the Virtuosi della Fenice, premiered at Teatro La Fenice, Venice. 2006[18]

  • Furore

for symphony orchestra and tape, premiered at Blackheath Halls, London, 2005.[19]

References
  1. "Meet our Fulbrighters: Alexander Rudd". The US-UK Fulbright Commission.
  2. "Scoring for Motion Pictures and Television". Smptv.net. Retrieved 11 November 2011.
  3. "2009 Fulbright Scholars Announced". Fulbright.co.uk. Retrieved 11 November 2011.
  4. "Unknown Production Notes" (PDF). Warner Bros.
  5. Stevie Hughes. "Gary Parkes Music Ltd : Agent for musicians & entertainers – Singer-pianists for party, wedding, event, hotel, cruises – Katerina Kutuzi (singer-pianist)". Garyparkes.com. Archived from the original on 31 July 2012. Retrieved 11 November 2011.
  6. "Piano Vocalists". Parklanemusic.net. Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 11 November 2011.
  7. "Wild Oats Productions". Wild Oats Productions. Retrieved 11 November 2011.
  8. "Force 9 1/2 (2007) < Youth Music Theatre UK". Youthmusictheatreuk.org. 10 August 2007. Archived from the original on 7 October 2011. Retrieved 11 November 2011.
  9. toksvig. "Jenifer Toksvig – Musical Theatre Librettist". Acompletelossforwords.com. Archived from the original on 8 July 2007. Retrieved 11 November 2011.
  10. toksvig. "Jenifer Toksvig – Musical Theatre Librettist". Acompletelossforwords.com. Archived from the original on 3 May 2009. Retrieved 11 November 2011.
  11. "Jenifer Toksvig < Youth Music Theatre UK". Youthmusictheatreuk.org. Archived from the original on 7 October 2011. Retrieved 11 November 2011.
  12. "The Stones are Hatching (2005) < Youth Music Theatre UK". Youthmusictheatreuk.org. 19 August 2005. Archived from the original on 7 October 2011. Retrieved 11 November 2011.
  13. "The Doubtful Guest". Hoipolloi. 13 March 2008. Retrieved 11 November 2011.
  14. Alexander Rudd at IMDb
  15. "Home Page | Thule". Thulethemovie.com. 17 May 2011. Archived from the original on 31 August 2011. Retrieved 11 November 2011.
  16. "iTunes – Music – Thule (Music from the Motion Picture) by Various Artists". Itunes.apple.com. 5 February 2011. Retrieved 11 November 2011.
  17. ZIEL 1 = KUNST = ZIEL 1: Workshops 2004/2005/2006 (PDF). MEP Christa Prets. 2006. ISBN 3-901757-53-8. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 July 2011. Retrieved 14 March 2011.
  18. "iCloud". Web.me.com. Retrieved 2 August 2013.
  19. Rudd, Alexander (20 April 2009). Furore. Imprimata. ISBN 978-1-906192-30-3. Retrieved 11 November 2011.
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