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Sarah Frances Beamish (born 26 August 1956) is a British composer and violist. Her works include chamber, vocal, choral and
orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * String instruments, such as the violin, viola, cello, ...
l music. She has also worked in the field of music,
theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a Stage (theatre), stage. The performe ...
, film and television, as well as composing for children and for her local community.


Early life and education

Sarah Frances Beamish was born on 26 August 1956 in
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
, to William Anthony Alten Beamish and Ursula Mary Beamish (''née'' Snow). She attended the Camden School for Girls and the National Youth Orchestra. She studied viola at the Royal Northern College of Music, where she received composition lessons from Anthony Gilbert and
Lennox Berkeley Sir Lennox Randal Francis Berkeley CBE (12 May 190326 December 1989) was an English composer. Biography Berkeley was born on 12 May 1903 in Oxford, England, the younger child and only son of Aline Carla (1863–1935), daughter of Sir James ...
. She later studied in Germany at the Hochschule für Musik Detmold, with the Italian violist Bruno Giuranna.


Career

As a violist in the Raphael Ensemble, she recorded four discs of string sextets. However, it was as a composer that she made her mark, particularly after moving from London to Scotland. She has written a large amount of music for orchestra, including two symphonies and several concertos (for violin, viola, cello,
oboe The oboe ( ) is a type of double-reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common type of oboe, the soprano oboe pitched in C, ...
, saxophone, saxophone quartet, trumpet, percussion, flute and
accordion Accordions (from 19th-century German language, German ', from '—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a Reed (mou ...
). She has also written chamber and instrumental music, film scores, theatre music, and music for amateurs. In September 1993, Beamish received the Paul Hamlyn Foundation Award for outstanding achievement in composition. In 1994 and 1995 she co-hosted the Scottish Chamber Orchestra (SCO) composers' course in
Hoy Hoy may refer to: People Given name * Hoy Menear (died 2023), American politician * Hoy Phallin (born 1995), Cambodian footballer * Hoy Wong (1920–2009), American bartender Surname * Hoy (surname), a Scottish and Irish surname * H� ...
with Sir
Peter Maxwell Davies Sir Peter Maxwell Davies (8 September 1934 – 14 March 2016) was an English composer and conductor, who in 2004 was made Master of the Queen's Music. As a student at both the University of Manchester and the Royal Manchester College of Music ...
. From 1998 to 2002, she was composer in residence with the Swedish Chamber Orchestra and the SCO, for whom she wrote four major works. Beamish won a 'Creative Scotland' Award from the
Scottish Arts Council The Scottish Arts Council (), was a Scottish public body responsible for the funding, development and promotion of the arts in Scotland. The Council primarily distributed funding from the Scottish Government as well as National Lottery funds ...
which enabled her to write her oratorio for the 2001
BBC 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 ...
– the Knotgrass Elegy premiered by the
BBC Symphony Orchestra The BBC Symphony Orchestra (BBC SO) is a British orchestra based in London. Founded in 1930, it was the first permanent salaried orchestra in London, and is the only one of the city's five major symphony orchestras not to be self-governing. The ...
and Chorus with Sir Andrew Davis. Other works include three viola concerti, five string quartets, two percussion concerti (the second of which was written for Colin Currie with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Stanford Lively Arts and the Bergen Symphony Orchestra and premiered in 2012), and works for traditional instruments, including a concerto for clàrsach and fiddle concerto premiered by Catriona Mackay and Chris Stout in 2012. In December 2010, it was announced that Beamish had been selected as one of twenty composers to participate in the New Music 20x12 project as part of the
London 2012 The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...
Cultural Olympiad. Beamish will compose a new work for the
Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment (OAE) is a British period instrument orchestra. The OAE is a resident orchestra of the Southbank Centre, London, associate orchestra at Glyndebourne Festival Opera Artistic Associate at Kings Place, and ...
to be premiered in 2012.NOTE This information needs an update She has a series of recordings on the BIS label. In December 2017, Northern Ballet premiered ''
The Little Mermaid "The Little Mermaid" (), sometimes translated in English as "The Little Sea Maid", is a fairy tale written by Danish author Hans Christian Andersen. Originally published in 1837 as part of a collection of fairy tales for children, the story foll ...
'', a full-length ballet with her orchestral score. In 2012, and again in 2015, she was featured as
BBC Radio 3 BBC Radio 3 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It replaced the BBC Third Programme in 1967 and broadcasts classical music and opera, with jazz, world music, Radio drama, drama, High culture, culture and the arts ...
's ''Composer of the Week.'' In March 2016, Beamish was elected a Fellow of the
Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE) is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was establis ...
, Scotland's National Academy for science and the arts. Beamish was presented with the 'Award for Inspiration' at the 2018 British Composer Awards. Beamish was appointed
Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...
(OBE) in the
2020 Birthday Honours The Queen's Birthday Honours for 2020 are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded ...
for services to music. In 2020, Beamish composed ''April'' for Sound World’s Coronavirus Fund for Freelance Musicians, a project supporting struggling musicians during the UK's COVID-19 lockdown. Written in memory of Ellis Marsalis Jr. who had died from Covid near the beginning of the pandemic, it was included on the album ''Reflections'' alongside specially written pieces by other composers such as
Gavin Bryars Richard Gavin Bryars (; born 16 January 1943) is an English composer and double bassist. He has worked in jazz, free improvisation, minimalism, Musical historicism, historicism, Avant-garde music, avant-garde, and experimental music. Early lif ...
,
Mark-Anthony Turnage Mark-Anthony Turnage (born 10 June 1960) is an English composer of contemporary classical music. Life and career Mark-Anthony Turnage was born in Corringham, Essex on 10 June 1960. Turnage was the eldest of three children. His parents were lov ...
, Evelyn Glennie and Nico Muhly. Her ''Nine Fragments – String Quartet No. 4'' is the set repertoire for the Wigmore Hall International String Quartet Competition 2022. She is foreign member of the
Royal Swedish Academy of Music The Royal Swedish Academy of Music (), founded in 1771 by King Gustav III, is one of the Royal Academies in Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in ...
.


Personal life

In 1988, she married Robert Irvine and they had two sons and a daughter. They separated in 2008. In 2019, she married Peter Thomson. She has lived in Brighton, UK since 2018. She is a
Quaker Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally, others referred to them as Quakers ...
.


Works

*''The Lost Pibroch'' (1991) for the Scottish Chamber Orchestra *Viola Concerto No 1 (1995) World Premier at BBC Proms 2 August 1995 soloist Philip Dukes with the
London Mozart Players London Mozart Players (LMP) are a British chamber orchestra founded in 1949. LMP are the longest-established chamber orchestra in the United Kingdom. Since 1989, the orchestra has been Resident Orchestra at Fairfield Halls, Croydon. History Begin ...
conducted by Matthias Bamert, *''Winter Journey'' (1996) and ''Mary's Precious Boy'' (1999) are Nativity musicals for pre-school and primary school children *''Monster'' (1996), an opera based on the life of
Mary Shelley Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley ( , ; ; 30 August 1797 – 1 February 1851) was an English novelist who wrote the Gothic novel ''Frankenstein, Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' (1818), which is considered an History of science fiction# ...
, commissioned by the Brighton Festival and
Scottish Opera Scottish Opera is the national opera company of Scotland, and one of the five national performing arts companies of Scotland. Founded in 1962 and based in Glasgow, it is the largest performing arts organisation in Scotland. History Scottish Op ...
, with a libretto by Scottish novelist Janice Galloway *''Black, White and Blue'' (1997) for harpsichord and string quartet *''Caledonian Road'' (1997), commissioned by the Glasgow Chamber Orchestra *''The Day Dawn'' (1997), commissioned by Contemporary Music-Making for Amateurs *''No I'm Not Afraid'' (1998) *''Awuya'' (1998) for harp *''Four Findrinny Songs'' (1998) *''Sun and Moon'' (1999), an unpublished dance project for pre-school children, with choreography by Rosina Bonsu *''The Imagined Sound of Sun on Stone'' (1999) for soprano saxophone and chamber orchestra *''River'' (2000), cello concerto, inspired by the 1983 ''River'' anthology by
Ted Hughes Edward James Hughes (17 August 1930 – 28 October 1998) was an English poet, translator, and children's writer. Critics frequently rank him as one of the best poets of his generation and one of the twentieth century's greatest writers. He wa ...
. *''Knotgrass Elegy'' (2001) commissioned by the BBC Proms * ''The Naming of Birds'' (2001), wind quintet *''Viola Concerto No. 2 'The Seafarer (2001), commissioned by Swedish and Scottish Chamber Orchestras, premiered by Tabea Zimmermann and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra/Joseph Swensen. It was part of the quarterfinal repertoire for the 2014 Primrose International Viola Competition. *''Trumpet concerto'' for Håkan Hardenberger and the National Youth Orchestra of Scotland, conducted by
Martyn Brabbins Martyn Charles Brabbins (born 13 August 1959) is a British conductor. Biography The fourth of five children in his family, he learned to play the euphonium, and then the trombone during his youth at Towcester Studio Brass Band. He later studi ...
, was performed at the Proms in 2003. *''Trance o Nicht'' (2004), a concerto for percussionist Evelyn Glennie, received its premiere in the Northern Lights Festival,
Tromsø Tromsø is a List of towns and cities in Norway, city in Tromsø Municipality in Troms county, Norway. The city is the administrative centre of the municipality as well as the administrative centre of Troms county. The city is located on the is ...
*''Flute concerto'' (2005), commissioned by the RSNO, was premiered and recorded by Sharon Bezaly in 2005 *''Shenachie'', a stage musical with writer Donald Goodbrand Saunders, about the Highlands of Scotland, premiered in Gartmore in May 2006. *''Under the Wing of the Rock'' (2006), a viola concerto, for
Lawrence Power Lawrence Power is a British violist, born 1977, noted both for solo performances and for chamber music with the Nash Ensemble and Leopold String Trio. Career Power started out as a violist (rather than beginning studies on the violin and swi ...
and the
Scottish Ensemble Scottish Ensemble is a professional string orchestra based in Glasgow, Scotland and led by Artistic Director and violinist Jonathan Morton. Scottish Ensemble also collaborates with soloists. Recently guest artists have included trumpeter Alison ...
. *''St. Catharine's Service'' (2006),
Magnificat The Magnificat (Latin for "y soulmagnifies he Lord) is a canticle, also known as the Song of Mary or Canticle of Mary, and in the Byzantine Rite as the Ode of the Theotokos (). Its Western name derives from the incipit of its Latin text. This ...
and
Nunc Dimittis The Nunc dimittis (), also known as the Song of Simeon or the Canticle of Simeon, is a canticle taken from the second chapter of the Gospel of Luke, verses 29 to 32. Its Latin name comes from its incipit, the opening words, of the Vulgate transl ...
, commissioned for the choir of
St Catharine's College, Cambridge St Catharine's College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. Founded in 1473 as Katharine Hall, it adopted its current name in 1860. The college is nicknamed "Catz". The colle ...
. *''The Singing'' (2006), a concerto for classical accordion and orchestra, commissioned by the Cheltenham Festival and the
Melbourne Symphony Orchestra The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (MSO) is an Australian orchestra based in Melbourne. The MSO is resident at Hamer Hall. The MSO has its own choir, the MSO Chorus, following integration with the Melbourne Chorale in 2008. The MSO relies on fun ...
with Beryl Calver Jones and Gerry Mattock. First performed by
James Crabb James Crabb (born 1967) is a Scottish classical accordion player. Crabb was born in Dundee. He was given his first accordion at age 4 by his accordion-playing father. He studied at the Royal Danish Academy of Music in Copenhagen with classic ...
and the Hallé Orchestra with
Martyn Brabbins Martyn Charles Brabbins (born 13 August 1959) is a British conductor. Biography The fourth of five children in his family, he learned to play the euphonium, and then the trombone during his youth at Towcester Studio Brass Band. He later studi ...
at the Cheltenham Festival, 2006 *''The Lion & the Deer'' (2007), cycle of 14th century Iranian poems, commissioned for The Portsmouth Grammar School *''Suite pour Violoncelle et Orchestre'' (2007), commissioned for
Steven Isserlis Steven John Isserlis (born 19 December 1958) is a British cellist. An acclaimed soloist, chamber musician, educator, writer and broadcaster, he is widely regarded as one of the leading musicians of his generation. He is also noted for his div ...
and the
Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra (SPCO) is an American chamber orchestra based in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Its principal concert venue is the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts. In collaboration with five artistic partners, the orchestra's musi ...
*''A Cage of Doves'' (2007), commissioned by the Stavanger Symphony Orchestra *''Four Songs from Hafez'' (2007) for tenor and piano (also version for tenor and harp). Commissioned by Leeds Lieder. First performed by Mark Padmore and Roger Vignoles, Leeds 2007. *''Spinal Chords'' (2012). * ''The King's Alchemist'' (2013) for string trio *''Equal Voices'' (2014) for orchestra, chorus, soprano and baritone. Commissioned by 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 ...
with support from Susie Thomson, and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra. The Scottish premier was performed in November 2014 by the RSNO and RSNO Chorus. *Intrada e Fuga (2015) for solo violin, commissioned by Fenella Humphreys. *''
The Little Mermaid "The Little Mermaid" (), sometimes translated in English as "The Little Sea Maid", is a fairy tale written by Danish author Hans Christian Andersen. Originally published in 1837 as part of a collection of fairy tales for children, the story foll ...
'' (2017), ballet commissioned by Northern Ballet *Variation in '' Pictured Within'' (2019), variations on a theme composed one variation each by a total of 14 composers, played at the London Proms 13 August 2019 *''April'' (2020) for alto saxophone, vibraphone and piano, released on ''Reflections'' by Sound World and the Bristol Ensemble *''Sonnets'' (2020) for two pianos (6 hands) premiere 9 October 2021, broadcast BBC Radio 3 13 October 2021 *''Trance'' (2023) for piano trio (in memory of the composer's mother), premiere Bantry 28 June 2023, broadcast BBC Radio 3 4 October 2023.''Radio Times'' 30 September–6 October 2023, page 120


Sources

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References


External links


Official websiteInterview with Sally Beamish, by Andrew Stewart, originally published in ''Classical Music'', 31 January 2009.Catalogue of Sally Beamish works at the Scottish Music Centre websiteSally Beamish speaks about the composition of her piece ''Spinal Chords'', words by Melanie Reid (Video)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Beamish, Sally 1956 births Living people 20th-century British classical composers 21st-century British classical composers Scottish women classical composers English women classical composers Composers from London Officers of the Order of the British Empire People educated at Camden School for Girls English classical violists British women violists Alumni of the Royal Northern College of Music 2012 Cultural Olympiad English Quakers 20th-century English composers 20th-century Scottish musicians 20th-century English women musicians 21st-century English women musicians 20th-century British women composers 21st-century British women composers 20th-century British violists 21st-century violists Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Music Composers for viola British Quakers