Claudia Molitor (born 1974) is an English-German

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 def ...

based in

Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...

East Sussex East Sussex is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Kent to the north-east, West Sussex to the west, Surrey to the north-west, and the English Channel to the south. The largest settlement ...

, England.

Biography

Born in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, Claudia Molitor studied Music and Media at

University of Sussex The University of Sussex is a public university, public research university, research university located in Falmer, East Sussex, England. It lies mostly within the city boundaries of Brighton and Hove. Its large campus site is surrounded by the ...

. After an MA in Music at

City University London City, University of London was a public university from 1966 to 2024 in London, England. It merged with St George's, University of London to form City St George's, University of London in August 2024. The names "City, University of London" and ...

, she completed her PhD in Composition at the

University of Southampton The University of Southampton (abbreviated as ''Soton'' in post-nominal letters) is a public university, public research university in Southampton, England. Southampton is a founding member of the Russell Group of research-intensive universit ...

in 2004 (her supervisor was

Michael Finnissy Michael Peter Finnissy (born 17 March 1946) is an English composer, pianist, and pedagogue. An immensely prolific composer, his music is "notable for its dramatic urgency and expressive immediacy". Although he rejects the label, he is often reg ...

). She currently lectures in music at

Work

Molitor can best be described as a conceptual composer.The Wire, 335 (January 2012), 18-19 However, she has composed works for more traditional ensembles, such as

Apartment House An apartment (American English, Canadian English), flat (British English, Indian English, South African English), tenement ( Scots English), or unit (Australian English) is a self-contained housing unit (a type of residential real estate) th ...

, and for orchestra (awarded a Royal Philharmonic Society Music Award). A fair number of her more recent 'works' are collaborations with composer-performers, such as ''Lemon Drizzle'' (a duo she formed with Sarah Nicholls) and site-specific works including ''Singing Bridge'' for a walk over

Waterloo Bridge Waterloo Bridge () is a road and foot traffic bridge crossing the River Thames in London, between Blackfriars Bridge and Hungerford Bridge and Golden Jubilee Bridges. Its name commemorates the victory of the British, Dutch and Prussians at the ...

from

Somerset House Somerset House is a large neoclassical architecture, neoclassical building complex situated on the south side of the Strand, London, Strand in central London, overlooking the River Thames, just east of Waterloo Bridge. The Georgian era quadran ...

to the National Theatre in London, and ''Sonorama'' for the train journey between London's

St Pancras railway station St Pancras railway station (), officially known since 2007 as London St Pancras International, is a major central London railway terminus on Euston Road in the London Borough of Camden. It is the terminus for Eurostar services from Belgium, F ...

and

Margate Margate is a seaside resort, seaside town in the Thanet District of Kent, England. It is located on the north coast of Kent and covers an area of long, north-east of Canterbury and includes Cliftonville, Garlinge, Palm Bay, UK, Palm Bay and W ...

. Molitor is inspired by a wide range of music and composers including

Pauline Oliveros Pauline Oliveros (May 30, 1932 – November 24, 2016) was an American composer, accordionist and a central figure in the development of post-war experimental and electronic music. She was a founding member of the San Francisco Tape Music Center ...

, to whom her piece ''Auricularis Superior'' (commissioned by Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival) is dedicated, exploring her idea of Deep Listening.

Scholarships and awards

* ''Alert'' (2008),

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 ...

Works (small selection)

* 'Paper cut ? a homage to Cage (and Beethoven of course)' * 'Who kissed my head?', for live electronics and acoustic instruments * 'Oh Du Kleines Kabinett', 2006 * 'Alert', 2008 * 'Untitled izzy painting makes me happy, 2007

References

External links

Claudia Molitor's official website

PRS page for CM
1974 births Living people English classical composers British women classical composers 20th-century classical composers 21st-century classical composers Alumni of the University of Southampton Alumni of City, University of London Alumni of the University of Sussex German women classical composers 20th-century English composers 21st-century English composers 20th-century German composers 20th-century English women musicians 21st-century German composers 21st-century English women musicians German classical composers 20th-century German women composers 21st-century women composers 21st-century German women {{UK-composer-stub