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Kate Whitley (born 1989) is an English
composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...
and pianist.


Career

She is classically trained and studied music at King's College, Cambridge. Her music is recorded by NMC Recordings and her debut release, ''I am, I say'' was released in 2017. It was described as "unpretentious and appealingly vigorous music" and "an excellent introduction to her sonic world". She won a Borletti-Buitoni Trust Special Award in 2014. Her music has been broadcast live on BBC Radio 3 and performed as part of the BBC Proms. In 2017, Whitley was commissioned by Radio 3 to compose a piece for
International Women's Day International Women's Day (IWD) is a global holiday celebrated annually on March 8 as a focal point in the women's rights movement, bringing attention to issues such as gender equality, reproductive rights, and violence and abuse against wom ...
, setting the words of Malala Yousafzai's 2013 speech to the UN. The piece, called ''Speak Out,'' was
premiere A première, also spelled premiere, is the debut (first public presentation) of a play, film, dance, or musical composition. A work will often have many premières: a world première (the first time it is shown anywhere in the world), its first ...
d on 8 March 2017 in the Hoddinott Hall in Cardiff, with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales and Chorus of Wales alongside the children's choir Cor y Cwm, conducted by Xian Zhang. Her concert piece ''Sky Dances'', was commissioned by the London Symphony Orchestra and performed in the summer of 2018 at Trafalgar Square. Sir Simon Rattle conducted the LSO and 70 young musicians from East London. The ballet ''Ignite'', written for
Birmingham Royal Ballet Birmingham Royal Ballet (BRB) is one of the five major ballet companies of the United Kingdom, alongside The Royal Ballet, the English National Ballet, Northern Ballet and Scottish Ballet. Founded as the Sadler's Wells Theatre Ballet, the company ...
, toured the same year. In July 2022 a new oratorio, ''Our Future In Your Hands'' was performed at the Buxton Festival, with an orchestra of young musicians from the Royal Northern College of Music and a choir drawn from local schools. The text, by Laura Attridge, voices climate change concerns from the point of view of young people.


Multi-Story Orchestra

Whitley co-founded the Multi-Story Orchestra with
conductor Conductor or conduction may refer to: Music * Conductor (music), a person who leads a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra. * ''Conductor'' (album), an album by indie rock band The Comas * Conduction, a type of structured free improvisation ...
Christopher Stark in 2011. The orchestra's first performance was of
Stravinsky Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky (6 April 1971) was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor, later of French (from 1934) and American (from 1945) citizenship. He is widely considered one of the most important and influential 20th-century clas ...
's '' The Rite of Spring'' in a car park in
Peckham Peckham () is a district in southeast London, within the London Borough of Southwark. It is south-east of Charing Cross. At the United Kingdom Census 2001, 2001 Census the Peckham ward had a population of 14,720. History "Peckham" is a Saxon p ...
, London. The project won the 2016 Royal Philharmonic Society Music Award for Audiences and Engagement. The orchestra also works with school children and local community groups.


List of works


Solo/chamber works

* ''Duo'' for violin and viola * ''3 pieces for violin and piano'' * ''Five piano pieces'' * ''Two songs for clarinet and piano'' * ''Lines'' for string quartet


Orchestral

* ''Autumn Songs'' for 12 solo strings (7 violins, 2 violas, 2 cellos, bass) * ''Viola Concerto'' * ''Split'' for solo clarinet, solo percussion and strings * ''The Animals'' * ''Sky Dances''


Choral

* ''I am I say'' (words by Sabrina Mahfouz) for soprano, bass, children's choir orchestra * ''Speak Out'' (words by Malala Yousafzai, written in support of the campaign for girls’ right to education) for children's choir, SATB chorus and orchestra * ''Alive (''words by Holly McNish) for children's choir and orchestra * ''The Cruel Cut'' (words by Sabrina Mahfouz, written in support of the campaign to stop FGM in the UK) for 4 sopranos, community choir including solo untrained voice, piano * * ''Our Future In Your Hands'', oratorio, words by Laura Attridge, Buxton Festival, fp 10 July 2022


Dramatic

* ''Paws and Padlocks'' (children's opera, libretto by Sabrina Mahfouz) * ''Unknown Position'' (libretto by Emma Hogan) * ''Ignite'', ballet (2018)


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Whitley, Kate 1989 births Living people English women pianists Alumni of King's College, Cambridge English composers British women classical composers 21st-century English women musicians 21st-century pianists 21st-century British composers 21st-century women composers 21st-century women pianists