Gavin Higgins

Gavin Higgins (born in 1983) is a British composer who resides in London.

Gavin Higgins
Born18 April 1983
Gloucester, England
GenresClassical, Contemporary Classical
Occupation(s)Composer
Websitegavinhiggins.com

Early life and education

Higgins was born in Gloucestershire and grew up in the Forest Of Dean.[1] There, he started his education in music, due to his family's membership of a local brass band. His first instrument was the cornet, which he started learning during infancy.[2] He also played the tenor horn.[1]

At 16, Higgins went to Chetam's School of Music in Manchester on a scholarship. He then studied French horn and composition at the Royal Northern College of Music.[2]

Higgins has a history of coal miners and brass band musicians in his family, the fact of which was inspiration for his ballet, Dark Arteries, for brass band and dance ensemble, based on the Miners Strike of 1984-85.[3]

Career

After moving to London, Higgins became the inaugural Music Fellow for Rambert Dance Company in 2010.[4]

He also wrote music for What Wild Ecstasy, and Dark Arteries, both ballets created in collaboration with then Rambert Artistic Director, Mark Baldwin.[5][4] What Wild Escstasy was commissioned as part of PRS for Music Foundation's 'New Music 20x12 scheme', in association with the 2012 Olympics.[6] Dark Arteries was commissioned to commemorate the 30 year anniversary of the 1984-85 UK miners' strike and was inspired by the events of the strike and as well as Higgins' mining-linked heritage.[7]

Higgins has written three pieces for the BBC Proms, Der Aufstand (2012), Velocity (which opened the Last night of the Proms 2014) and most recently Rough Voices (2020).[8] He has also composed a trombone concerto, The Book of Miracles for the BBC Symphony Orchestra, premiered in early 2019.[9]

The Royal Opera House commissioned Higgins and author Francesca Simon to write an Opera based on Simon's book, The Monstrous Child, about the teenage Norse god of the dead, Hel. Higgins wrote the music for the opera, while Simon wrote the libretto. The opera premiered in 2019 in the Linbury theatre at the Royal Opera House.[10]

In 2020 Gavin was appointed the Composer in Association for the BBC National Orchestra of Wales.[11]

Selected works

Solo
  • Three Broken Love Songs (2006) - for clarinet and piano
  • Urban Fairy Tales (2009) - solo piano
  • Kathedrale (2013) - solo accordion
  • A Quiet Grief (2020) - solo horn

Chamber
  • Atomic Cafe (2012) - for ensemble.
  • The Ruins of Detroit (2013) - piano trio
  • Gursky Landscapes (2018) - string quintet
  • Ekstasis (2019) - string sextet

Orchestral
  • Der Aufstand (2012)
  • Velocity (2014)
  • The Book of Miracles: Trombone Concerto (2019)
  • While Time Quietly Kills Them – revised (2020)
  • Rough Voices (2020)
  • Concerto Grosso for Brass Band and Orchestra (2022)

Ballet and opera
  • What Wild Ecstasy (2012) - Ballet
  • Dark Arteries (2016) - Ballet with brass band
  • The Monstrous Child (2019) - Opera

Brass and wind
  • Freaks (2007)
  • Fanfares and Love Songs (2009)
  • Destroy, Trample, As Swiftly As She (2011)
  • Prophecies (2017)
  • A Dark Arteries Suite (2017)
  • So Spoke Albion (2022)

Awards

In 2019 Higgins won an Ivor Novello Composer Award in the orchestral category for his trombone concerto, Book of Miracles.[12] His Concerto Grosso for Brass Band and Orchestra was recognized with a Royal Philharmonic Society Award in 2023 for best large-scale composition.[13]

Gavin Higgins was the winner of 2023's Sky Arts Award for classical music for his Concerto Grosso for Brass Band and Orchestra.[14]

References
  1. "Gavin Higgins". www.fabermusic.com. Faber Music.
  2. Montgomery, Hugh. "Composer Gavin Higgins hopes his opera The Monstrous Child will introduce the genre to a new generation". Metro News. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
  3. Rickson, Graham. "theartsdesk Q&A: Composer Gavin Higgins". The Arts Desk. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
  4. "Rambert's first music fellow commissioned for Last Night of the Proms". www.rambert.org.uk/. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
  5. "Rambert and Gavin Higgins' collaborative work Dark Arteries short-listed for a RPS Music Award". www.rambert.org.uk/. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
  6. "What Wild ecstasy". Rambert. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
  7. Craine, Debra. "Why it's time for brass bands to change their tune". The Times. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
  8. "All works in BBC proms b Gavin Higgins". Proms. BBC. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
  9. "Celebrating the BBC Symphony Orchestra and BBC Singers". BBC Radio 3. BBC.
  10. Simon, Francesca. "Francesca Simon: how I turned The Monstrous Child into 'Wagner for teens'". Guardian. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
  11. "Instrumental Insights: Gavin Higgins, Composer in Association". www.bbc.co.uk. BBC. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
  12. "WINNERS ANNOUNCED FOR THE IVORS COMPOSER AWARDS 2019". Ivors Academy. 4 December 2019. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
  13. "Large-Scale Composition Award". Royal Philharmonic Society. Retrieved 1 March 2023.
  14. Butterworth, Hattie. "Gavin Higgins wins 2023 Sky Arts Award for Classical Music". Retrieved 20 September 2023.
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