Fiona Bennett (born 1962) is a Welsh composer of classical music. Bennett was born in

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

and studied at the

Guildhall School of Music The Guildhall School of Music and Drama is a music and drama school located in the City of London, England. Established in 1880, the school offers undergraduate and postgraduate training in all aspects of classical music and jazz along with dram ...

in London. After graduating, she formed a band called "Route 66", which performed at

Highclere Castle Highclere Castle is a Listed building#Categories of listed building, Grade I listed country house built in 1679 and largely renovated in the 1840s, with a park designed by Capability Brown in the 18th century. The estate is in Highclere in ...

. and also sang with her own jazz trio. She married businessman Bob Rae, and they had two children, Dominic and Zachary, before divorcing. Zachary was diagnosed with

autism Autism, also known as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by differences or difficulties in social communication and interaction, a preference for predictability and routine, sensory processing d ...

in 2006, and Bennett gave up her music career temporarily to look after him. She took up composing again at the age of fifty, and hired a studio to record some of her pieces under her own "ELF Records" label. In 2014, Bennett began advertising her album ''A Country Suite'' on radio. The following year, she campaigned to get listeners to vote for her music in the annual Classic FM "Top 300" listeners' poll; as a result, her pieces 'The Landscape', 'A Lad and a Lass' and 'Tempus Fugit' entered the station's "Hall of Fame". In 2016, her "New Lady Radnor Suite" entered the Hall of Fame at no 231. In 2017, Bennett reached no. 210 in the Classic FM Hall of Fame Top 300 with her album, 'A Country Suite'.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bennett, Fiona 1962 births 21st-century British classical composers Welsh composers Living people