David Bruce (composer)

Bruce was born in Stamford, Connecticut in 1970, but grew up in England.[2] He began his undergraduate music studies in 1988 at the University of Nottingham, where his composition tutors included Jim Fulkerson and Nicholas Sackman. He continued at the Royal College of Music from 1991 to 1993, where he obtained a master's degree in Composition, studying with Timothy Salter and George Benjamin. He received a PhD in Composition at King's College London between 1995 and 1999, under the supervision of Harrison Birtwistle.[3]

Bruce developed an international reputation as a composer. His work is performed by musicians from around the world, including soprano Dawn Upshaw, klezmer pioneer Giora Feidman and the St. Lawrence String Quartet. Upshaw in particular played an important role in bringing Bruce's music to wider attention. She instigated the commission for his opera A Bird in Your Ear and performed his Piosenki song-cycle at Carnegie Hall and elsewhere. Upshaw was the soloist in a new song-cycle with ensemble, The North Wind was a Woman, commissioned for the Gala opening of the 2009 season by the Chamber Music Society of the Lincoln Center.[4]

His work Gumboots was commissioned by Carnegie Hall for clarinetist Todd Palmer and the St Lawrence String Quartet. His Groanbox was written for New York's Metropolis Ensemble featuring The Groanbox Boys. He wrote Caja de Musica for Concert Artists Guild Winner Bridget Kibbey's Carnegie Hall debut.

Bruce's one-act opera A Bird in Your Ear (2008) was commissioned by Bard College and later had performances by New York City Opera as part of the 2009 Vox festival; as a finalist in the National Opera Association's Chamber Opera competition 2008 and with students at New York University. The New York Times described A Bird in Your Ear as "skillfully written and imaginative".[5]

Bruce's earlier chamber opera Push! was commissioned by the Genesis Foundation and premiered by Tête à Tête in London and went on tour in the UK in 2006. Push! was Critic's Choice for 2006 in both The Telegraph and Classical Music Magazine.[6] Other commissions include a series of mini-operas – Out of the Ordinary, for The Opera Group, Has it Happened Yet? (2002) for ENO Studios and Tête à Tête; Seven Tons of Dung for Tête à Tête (1999); incidental music to the Trestle Theatre Company's show The Smallest Person (2004); and instrumental pieces for the London Sinfonietta, BBC Symphony Orchestra, the Presteigne Festival and the Lake District Summer Music Festival.[7][8][9]

In 2011, another commission for Carnegie Hall, the octet Steampunk, was premiered by Ensemble ACJW at Skidmore College.[10][11][12][13]

In the 2013/14 season Bruce was Associate Composer of the San Diego Symphony, for whom he wrote three pieces, including Night Parade for the orchestra's highly anticipated Carnegie Hall debut in October 2013; and the violin concerto Fragile Light for Gil Shaham for 2014. In 2018, Bruce was commissioned by the BBC Proms to write Sidechaining a concerto for four soloists and orchestra.[14][15]

In 2012-13 Bruce was Composer-in-Residence with the Royal Opera House, who co-commissioned with Glyndebourne the opera Nothing (after the book by Janne Teller), which premiered in Glyndebourne in February 2016. Nothing received repeat performances in Aarhus, Denmark, and in 2020 a new production of the opera came to Royal Danish Opera in Copenhagen. Bruce's chamber opera The Firework Maker's Daughter (after the Philip Pullman story) toured the UK and New York in 2013 and was shortlisted for both the British Composer Awards, and the 2014 Olivier Awards for Best New Opera Production. It was revived for a 27-performance run at ROH Lindbury Studios in December 2015.

Other chamber works include two pieces written for mandolinist Avi Avital, Cymbeline and Death is a Friend of Ours; as well as The Consolation of Rain written for Camerata Pacifica and The Lick Quartet for the Dover Quartet, which was co-commissioned by Dallas Chamber Music Society and The Concertgebouw in Amersterdam.

In 2020 The London Philharmonic Orchestra commissioned a new piece for guitarist Milos and orchestra, which was due to premiere in 2021, but was delayed due to injury.

in 2021 Bruce's first piece for choir and organ was commissioned by Well Cathedral for premiere in October 2021.

• Lili Boulanger Memorial Award in 2008,[17] after a nomination by Osvaldo Golijov (a previous nomination in 1998 came from Sir Harrison Birtwistle);
• Royal Philharmonic Society Composition Competition in 1994[18][19]
• Selected as one of twenty composers to participate in the New Music 20x12 project as part of the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad.[20] The resulting work, Fire, premiered at Salisbury International Arts Festival on 26 May 2012.[21]

• David Bruce's website
• Official Youtube Channel
• David Bruce on Soundcloud
• American Music Center interview with David Bruce
• CompositionToday interview with David Bruce
• Streamed recordings of David Bruce's Gumboots and Piosenki on the Carnegie Hall website
• David Bruce at Bill Holab Music
• Paul Driver of Sunday Times on Push!
• Anna Picard of Sunday Independent on Push!