Andrew March is an English composer (born 1973). He was the winner of the first-ever Masterprize Composition Competition with his piece '' Marine — à travers les arbres''. Andrew studied composition at the Royal College of Music with

Jeremy Dale Roberts Jeremy Dale Roberts (16 May 1934 – 11 July 2017) was an English composer and teacher. After early contact with Ralph Vaughan Williams and Gerald Finzi, Dale Roberts studied with William Alwyn and Priaulx Rainier at the Royal Academy of Music, L ...

, graduating in 1996. His compositions have received critical acclaim and have been recorded and performed by some of the world's most famous orchestras including the

London Symphony Orchestra The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London. Founded in 1904, the LSO is the oldest of London's orchestras, symphony orchestras. The LSO was created by a group of players who left Henry Wood's Queen's ...

and the BBC Philharmonic.

Career

March was the 1996

Royal Philharmonic Society The Royal Philharmonic Society (RPS) is a British music society, formed in 1813. Its original purpose was to promote performances of instrumental music in London. Many composers and performers have taken part in its concerts. It is now a memb ...

Composition prize winner. In 1997, his symphonic poem ''Easdale'' was included on the Society for the Promotion of New Music (

SPNM The Society for the Promotion of New Music (SPNM), originally named The Committee for the Promotion of New Music, was founded in January 1943 in London by the émigré composer Francis Chagrin, to promote the creation and performance of new music in ...

) shortlist. ''Marine—à travers les arbres'' was featured at 1998's

Proms The BBC Proms is an eight-week summer season of daily orchestral classical music concerts and other events held annually, predominantly in the Royal Albert Hall in central London. Robert Newman founded The Proms in 1895. Since 1927, the ...

, with the EUYO conducted by

Vladimir Ashkenazy Vladimir Davidovich Ashkenazy (, ''Vladimir Davidovich Ashkenazi''; born 6 July 1937) is a Soviet-born Icelandic pianist, chamber music performer, and conductor. Ashkenazy has collaborated with well-known orchestras and soloists. In addition, ...

. His composition "A Stirring in the Heavenlies", a commission awarded as a prize by

The Musician's Company ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' ...

in 1998, was recorded by the Kyiv Philharmonic under composer/conductor Robert Ian Winstin for the 12–CD series "Masterworks of the New Era". '' Sanguis Venenatus'' (2009) was an

elegy An elegy is a poem of serious reflection, and in English literature usually a lament for the dead. However, according to ''The Oxford Handbook of the Elegy'', "for all of its pervasiveness ... the 'elegy' remains remarkably ill defined: sometime ...

written by March in memory of Haemophiliacs affected by the Tainted Blood Scandal. It was recorded by the

Moravian Philharmonic The Moravian Philharmonic (''Moravská filharmonie Olomouc'') is a Czech classical orchestra founded in 1945. Its resident venue is the Moravian Theatre in Olomouc. The current director is conductor Petr Vronský. Notable collaborators include ...

with conductor

Petr Vronský Petr Vronský (born 4 March 1946) is a Czech people, Czech conducting, conductor, violinist and music teacher. He was born to a musical family, his grandfather Bóža Wronski (1889–1953) was an operatic tenor, his father, Karel Vronský (1918– ...

Awards

* 1990 Flame of Youth Fanfare Competition (British Gas West Midlands) * 1993 English Song Prize * 1994 United Music Publishers' Prize * 1995 Cobbett & Hurlstone Prize * 1995 The Philip Morris Art Award (The Haemophilia Society) * 1996 Royal Philharmonic Society Composition Prize * 1996 Constant and Kit Lambert Award – (Musicians' Livery) * 1998 Masterprize International Composing Competition * 1998

Worshipful Company of Musicians The Worshipful Company of Musicians is one of the Livery Companies of the City of London. Its history dates back to at least 1350. Originally a specialist guild for musicians, its role became an anachronism in the 18th century, when the centre of ...

Quincentenary Commission (Musicians' Livery) * 2004 International Composition Competition to Honour the Greek Poet,

Pindar Pindar (; ; ; ) was an Greek lyric, Ancient Greek lyric poet from Thebes, Greece, Thebes. Of the Western canon, canonical nine lyric poets of ancient Greece, his work is the best preserved. Quintilian wrote, "Of the nine lyric poets, Pindar i ...

Selected works

Orchestral

* ''Easdale'' (1996) * ''Marine—à travers les arbres'' (1997) * ''Irish Reel'' (2000) * ''A Stirring in the Heavenlies'' (2000), commissioned by the

* ''Five Songs of Pindar'' (2003) for soprano, choir and orchestra * '' Sanguis Venenatus'' (2009) for string orchestra, written in memory of haemophiliacs and others who lost their lives as a result of the Tainted Blood Scandal * ''Cellular Automata Orchestral Suite'' (2009–13) ::''Gosper′s Glider Gun'' ::''The Infinite Hotel'' ::''Cloverleaf Period–4 Oscillator'' ::''Babbling Brook'' ::''Pond on Pond'' * ''Amoration'' (2016) for piano and strings * Piano Concerto No. 1 (2013–19) * ''The Skylark'' (2021) for full orchestra and SSAA voices. Text:

John Clare John Clare (13 July 1793 – 20 May 1864) was an English poet. The son of a farm labourer, he became known for his celebrations of the English countryside and his sorrows at its disruption. His work underwent major re-evaluation in the late 20t ...

Ensemble

* ''Flame of Youth Fanfare'' (1990) for brass ensemble of 12 players * ''Nymphéas'' (1995) for 8 players * ''Ten Little Pieces'' (1995) for 8 players * ''Music for Film Credits'' (1996) for 9 players * ''Adagio Assonnato'' (2000) for oboe, harp, strings * ''Nymphéas for Clarinet Choir'' (2016) * ''Elegy on Sudden Loss'' (2021) for string orchestra

Chamber and instrumental

* ''La Maison Blanche dans les Collines'' (1986) for string quartet * ''Cornelyn'' (1986) for piano and strings * ''Images of the Lake'' (1987) for solo flute * ''Transient Moods'' (1992) for guitar solo * ''Nymphèas for Two Pianos'' (2001), revised (2019) * ''Alto Flute and Harp Book'' (2001) :: ''Water Lilies'' with Kingma System quarter–tone alto flute ossia :: ''XXIX—in perpetuum'' for solo Kingma System quarter–tone alto flute :: ''Adagio Assonnato'' :: ''Aeolian Rustling'' with Kingma System quarter–tone alto flute ossia :: ''Dragonfly'' * ''In Memoriam'' (2002) for Kingma System quarter–tone alto flute, marimba, vibraphone, harp and strings * ''Equipoise (2005)'' for bass clarinet and piano * ''String Quartet Cycle "Birds of Prey' (2009) * ''Irish Reel—Piano Transcription'' (2009) for piano solo * ''Phoenix Trail (2010)'' for violin and piano * ''Three Pieces for Solo Cello'' (2011) * ''Solo Piano Album "14 pieces"'' (2014) * ''Ephemeral Nymphs'' (2015) for cello and piano * ''Dragonfly'' (2016) for flute, viola and harp * ''Spring Tide Arabesque'' (2016) for bass clarinet duo * ''Nightwind'' (2016) for flute, violin and cello * ''Dragonfly'' (2017) for clarinet, bass clarinet and piano * ''Seven Pieces'' (2017) for bass clarinet and piano * ''Two Pieces (2017) '' for bass clarinet duo * ''Pieces for Alto Saxophone and Piano'' (2019–2020) :: ''Moonrise at Perigee'' (2019) :: ''Nightshade'' (2020) :: Romance (2020) * ''Solitude'' (2020) for alto saxophone

Songs

* ''Boy in Ice'' (1992) for mezzo–soprano and piano. Text:

Laurie Lee Laurence Edward Alan Lee, (26 June 1914 – 13 May 1997) was an English poet, novelist and screenwriter, who was brought up in the small village of Slad in Gloucestershire. His most notable work is the autobiographical trilogy '' Cider w ...

* ''Invasion Summer'' (1993) for mezzo–soprano and 6 players. Text:

* ''Black Edge'' (1993) for mezzo–soprano and 8 players. Text:

* ''Poem I from "Chamber Music"'' (1996) for soprano and harp. Text:

James Joyce James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (born James Augusta Joyce; 2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influentia ...

* ''Un Grand Sommeil Noir'' (2008) for baritone and piano. Text:

Paul Verlaine Paul-Marie Verlaine ( ; ; 30 March 1844 – 8 January 1896) was a French poet associated with the Symbolism (movement), Symbolist movement and the Decadent movement. He is considered one of the greatest representatives of the ''fin de siècle'' ...

* ''Two Lovers'' (2009) for baritone and piano. Text:

George Eliot Mary Ann Evans (22 November 1819 – 22 December 1880; alternatively Mary Anne or Marian), known by her pen name George Eliot, was an English novelist, poet, journalist, translator, and one of the leading writers of the Victorian era. She wrot ...

Choral

* ''Be Still and Know'' (2000) * ''O Sing Unto the Lord'' (2000) * ''The Grace'' (2003) * ''Magnificat'' (2004) * ''Spiritus'' (2004) * ''Thou Art Worthy'' (2004) * ''Nunc Dimittis "The Song of Simeon"'' (2004) * ''Phos Hilaron "Song of the Light"'' (2004) * ''Marian Antiphon No.3 "Regina Caeli"'' (2005) * ''Marian Antiphon No.2 "Ave Regina Coelorum"'' (2005) * ''25 Choral Collects'' (2006); Text:

Common Worship ''Common Worship'' is the name given to the series of services authorised by the General Synod of the Church of England and launched on the first Sunday of Advent in 2000. It represents the most recent stage of development of the Liturgical M ...

, Additional

Collect The collect ( ) is a short general prayer of a particular structure used in Christian liturgy. Collects come up in the liturgies of Catholic, Lutheran, or Anglican churches, among others. Etymology The word is first seen as Latin ''collēcta'' ...

s * ''May We Who Share His Table'' (2006) * ''Creator of the Heavens "Choral Collect for Epiphany"'' (2006) Text:

, Additional

s * ''Psalm 57'' (2007) * ''Somnia'' (2007) Text:

Petronius Arbiter Gaius Petronius Arbiter"Gaius Petronius Arbiter"
Helen Waddell Helen Jane Waddell (31 May 1889 – 5 March 1965) was an Irish poet, scholar, theological novelist, translator, publisher's reader and playwright. She was a recipient of the Benson Medal. A biography of her by the Benedictine nun Dame Fel ...

* ''How Long, O Lord?'' (2008) * ''My Voice is Unto God'' (2008), with organ accompaniment * ''May We Who Share His Table'' (2009) for SSA choir with piano accompaniment * ''And It Shall Be'' (2010) * ''De Profundis'' (2011), for SAATBB choir * ''Spera in Domino "Psalm 36"'' (2012) * ''Dixit Iniustus "Psalm 35"'' (2012) * ''Dies Quoque "Day of Narrow Anguish"'' (2012) * ''Ante Faciem Dei'' (2015) * ''Your Eyes Fall Upon Us "Anthem for Remembrance"'' (2015); Text (adaptation): Sue Threakall * ''Laudate Dominum'' (2015) * ''Psalm 22'' (2015) for SSATB choir * ''Your Mercy, O Lord'' (2016) for

SSAA choir In music, SSAA is an initialism referring to a choir composed of two distinct Soprano (S) sections and two distinct Alto (A) sections. In an SSAA choir, First Sopranos sing the highest musical line, followed by Second Sopranos, First Altos, and Se ...

with piano accompaniment * ''Our God at Hand'' (2019) * ''Lament'' (2021) for SSAATTBB choir

Discography

* 1998 – Top of the World, ''Marine – à travers les arbres'',

, cond.

Daniel Harding Daniel John Harding (born 31 August 1975) is a British conductor and airplane pilot. Biography Harding was born in Oxford. He studied trumpet at Chetham's School of Music and was a member of the National Youth Orchestra at age 13. At age 17, ...

(March 1998,

BBC Music Magazine ''BBC Music Magazine'' is a British monthly magazine that focuses primarily on classical music. The first issue appeared in September 1992. BBC Worldwide, the commercial subsidiary of the BBC, was the original owner and publisher together with ...

: BBC MM67) * 1998 – Masterprize Finalists, ''Marine – à travers les arbres'',

, cond.

(4 September 1998,

EMI EMI Group Limited (formerly EMI Group plc until 2007; originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At t ...

Debut Series: CDZ572826-2) * 2005 – Masterworks of the New Era – Volume Seven, ''A Stirring in the Heavenlies'', Kiev Philharmonic, cond. Robert Ian Winstin (28 November 2005, ERM Media: ERM-6709) * 2007 – Masterworks of the New Era – Volume Eleven, ''Nymphéas'', Kiev Philharmonic, cond. Robert Ian Winstin (1 September 2007, ERM Media: ERM-6811) * 2007 – Regina Caeli, ''Nunc Dimittis''; ''Magnificat''; ''Be Still and Know''; ''Spiritus'' etc., The Chapel Choir of

Corpus Christi College, Cambridge Corpus Christi College (full name: "The College of Corpus Christi and the Blessed Virgin Mary", often shortened to "Corpus") is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. From the late 14th c ...

, cond. Daniel Soper; Rebecca Drake, (26 October 2007, Lammas Records: LAMM188D) * 2012 – Dimensions, ''Sanguis Venenatus'',

Strings, cond.

(13 November 2012, Navona Records: NV5895) * 2013 – Moto Perpetuo, ''Three Pieces for Solo Cello'', Ovidiu Marinescu (26 March 2013, Navona Records: NV5901) * 2014 – As if to sleep, ''Elveden''; ''Nosce Te Ipsum''; ''Moonvine''; ''Pavane''; ''Homage''; ''Night Vigil''; ''Solus'' etc., pf. Andrew March (29 January 2014, Assonnato Records: ATO573201) * 2016 – ''Amoration'', F.A.M.E.'S. Macedonian Radio Symphonic Orchestra, cond. Oleg Kondratenko; pf. Marija Vrskova (18 March 2016, Assonnato Records: ATO573202) * 2022 – ''Elegy on Sudden Loss'' (video), OpenSound Orchestra, cond. Stanislav Malyshev; (22 February 2022, Assonnato Records: ATO573203).

References

External links

Biography, Wise Music Classical

Da Vinci Edition

British Music Collection (BMIC)

Soundcloud

Musicalics, The Classical Composers Database

YouTube, (''Sanguis Venenatus'')

British Library (Sound & Moving Image Catalogue)

St. James Music Press (SJMP), North Carolina

Andrew March - Navona Records

RCM Library Catalogue
{{DEFAULTSORT:March, Andrew 1973 births Living people People from Nuneaton English composers English male classical composers People associated with the Royal College of Music Alumni of the Royal College of Music 20th-century English classical composers 21st-century English classical composers Composers for piano English classical composers of church music Composers of Christian music Choral composers Composers for cello 20th-century English male musicians 21st-century English male musicians