Stuart MacRae

Stuart MacRae (born 12 August 1976, Inverness, Scotland) is a British composer.

Biography

Stuart MacRae studied at Durham University with Philip Cashian and Michael Zev Gordon, and subsequently with Simon Bainbridge and Robert Saxton at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. By his mid-twenties he was writing astonishingly original and powerfully expressive works, and was receiving commissions from organisations such as the BBC and the London Sinfonietta as well as being appointed Composer-in-Association with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra. Often inspired by aspects of the natural landscape, MacRae’s style draws on various strands of European modernism, including the music of Igor Stravinsky, Elliott Carter, Iannis Xenakis and most significantly Peter Maxwell Davies.

Career highlights

* 1993-7 - studies at Durham University, then Guildhall School of Music and Drama.
* 1996 - finalist in Lloyd’s Bank Young Composers’ workshop.
* 1997 - premiere of "The Witch’s Kiss" with BBC Philharmonic Orchestra and Peter Maxwell Davies.
* 1999-2003 - Composer-in-Association of BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra.
* 2001 - MacRae portrait concert conducted by James MacMillan at Edinburgh Festival.
* 2001 - "Violin Concerto" premiered at BBC Proms.

Key works

* "The Witch’s Kiss" (1997; chamber ensemble)
* "Sleep at the Feet of Daphne" (1999; orchestra)
* "Violin Concerto" (2001)
* "Ancrene Wisse" (2002; choir, orchestra)
* "Motus" (2003; chamber ensemble)
* "Three Pictures" (2005; orchestra)
* "The Assassin Tree" (2006; opera)

Selected recordings

* [http://www.chesternovello.com/Default.aspx?TabId=2441&State_2934=2&discId_2934=1036 "The City Inside"] - Black Box BBM1058
* [http://www.chesternovello.com/Default.aspx?TabId=2441&State_2934=2&discId_2934=1266 "Piano Sonata"] - Delphian DCD 34009
* [http://www.chesternovello.com/Default.aspx?TabId=2441&State_2934=2&discId_2934=1665 "Tol-Pedn"] - Kairos 0012442KAI

External links

* [http://www.chesternovello.com/Default.aspx?TabId=2431&State_2905=2&composerId_2905=974 Stuart MacRae's homepage at Novello & Co.]