Jerome de Bromhead (born 2 December 1945) is an Irish composer, classical guitarist, and member of
Aosdána
Aosdána ( , ; from , 'people of the arts') is an Irish association or academy of artists, each of whom must have produced a distinguished body of work of genuine originality. It was created in 1981 by the country's Arts Council on the initiati ...
.
Biography
Jerome de Bromhead was born in
Waterford
Waterford ( ) is a City status in Ireland, city in County Waterford in the South-East Region, Ireland, south-east of Ireland. It is located within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster. The city is situated at the head of Waterford H ...
, Ireland. He studied with
A.J. Potter and
James Wilson James Wilson may refer to:
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* James Wilson (Upper Canada politician) (1770–1847), English-born farmer and political figure in Upper Canada
* James Crocket Wilson (1841–1899), Canadian MP from Queb ...
at the
Royal Irish Academy of Music
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in Dublin, with further studies with
Seóirse Bodley
Seóirse Bodley (; 4 April 1933 – 17 November 2023) was an Irish composer and associate professor of music at University College Dublin (UCD). He was the first composer to become a Saoi of Aosdána, in 2008. Bodley is widely regarded as one o ...
in 1975 and
Franco Donatoni in 1978. He holds an M.A. in music, art history and English from
Trinity College Dublin
Trinity College Dublin (), officially titled The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, and legally incorporated as Trinity College, the University of Dublin (TCD), is the sole constituent college of the Unive ...
. As a guitarist, he studied with Elspeth Henry (1967–68) and at the Guitar Centre, London (1969). He worked in
RTÉ
(; ; RTÉThe É in RTÉ is pronounced as an English E () and not an Irish É ()) is an Irish public service broadcaster. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on television, radio and online. The radio service began on 1 January 1926, ...
as a television news director and announcer, as well as a senior music producer for radio, until a serious accident forced him to retire in 1996. He currently lives in Dublin.
Music
His compositions include works for solo guitar as well as orchestral, choral and chamber music. His ''Symphony No. 1'' (1986) represented Ireland at the
International Rostrum of Composers The International Rostrum of Composers (IRC) is an annual forum organized by the International Music Council that offers broadcasting representatives the opportunity to exchange and publicize pieces of contemporary classical music. It is funded by c ...
at UNESCO in Paris. He describes his style as "neither a Postmodernist nor a deaf-as-a-postmodernist. Above all I am suspicious of anything that seems like dogma."
His harpsichord piece ''Flux'' (1981) was performed at the
ISCM World Music Days in Germany in 1987 and is now published by Tonos Verlag of Darmstadt.
According to guitarist
John Feeley, de Bromhead's solo guitar composition ''Gemini'' (1970) is "a sophisticated work, both technically and compositionally. It has the dynamism of youth, with a sense of freshness and it projects an attractive, driving energy
..It is an effective concert work, which speaks well on the instrument and is particularly gratifying for the performer."
[Feeley, John]
Contemporary Irish Music for Classic Guitar Solo
(Pacific, Ohio: Mel Bay, 2012), p. 25.
Selected works
Orchestral
*''Abstract Variations'' (1976)
*''Danzostinata'' (1978)
*''Venti Eventi'' (1978)
*''Symphony No. 1'' (1985)
*''Concerto for Guitar and Strings'' (1991, rev. 1997)
*''Symphony No. 2'' (1994)
*Violin Concerto No. 1 (2008)
*''Corkamesca'' (2014) for string orchestra
*''A Lay for a Light Year'' (2014)
Chamber music
*''Frenetics'' (1971) for 5 saxophones, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, piano, guitar, drumkit, double bass
*String Quartet No. 1 (1971)
*''Rotastasis'' (1975) for 2 flutes, 2 clarinets, 2 violins, viola, cello, guitar
*''Parameters'' (1976) for flute, clarinet, bassoon, violin, cello, piano
*String Quartet No. 2 (1977)
*''Prelude for Viola and Piano'' (1977)
*Brass Quintet No. 1 (1979)
*''Magister'' (1981) for flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, 2 violins, viola, cello
*''Vespertine'' (1981) for flute and guitar
*Wind Quintet (1983)
*''Quondam'' (1985) for flute, violin, viola, piano
*Brass Quintet No. 2 (1986)
*''Torna un Suono'' (1992) for oboe, viola, cello
*''Gym'' (1999) for mixed ensemble (10 musicians)
*''Serenade'' (2005) for oboe/clarinet and double bass
*''Baroque Restorations'' (2006) for accordion and piano
*''Augury'' (2009) for violin and guitar
*''Few Get to the Orient'' (2009) for 4 percussionists
*''Noon'' (2009) for clarinet and piano
*''Brass Canons'' (2014) for 4 trumpets, 4 horns, 3 trombones, euphonium, tuba
*''Farewell Fair Friend'' (2014) for flute, clarinet, accordion, violin, cello
Solo instrumental
*''Anno'' (1969) for guitar
*''Gemini'' (1970) for guitar
*''Benthos'' (1974) for piano
*''Xasolos'' (1975) for any treble instrument
*''Moto Impetuo'' (1977) for organ
*''Flux'' (1981) for harpsichord
*''Undulations'' (1984) for piano
*''Three Fresh Pieces'' (1989) for piano
*''Two Ladies Dancing'' (1998) film score, for piano
*Guitar Sonata No. 1 (1999)
*''Gerousia'' (2006) for guitar
*''Charlie's Lonesome Violin Blues'' (2009) for violin
*''Fright Fight or Flight'' (2009) for viola
*''Party Games'' (2009) for violin
*''Pseudo Fugue and Presumptuous Postlude'' (2009) for cello
Vocal
*''Dirge from Donne's Devotions'' (1975) for mixed choir
*''Bláth an Aitinn'' (1976) for mixed choir
*''Iomramh'' (1978) for mixed choir
*''Hy Brasil'' (1980) for soprano, alto, tenor, bass, mixed choir, small orchestra
*''Joy'' (1982) for soprano, baritone, mixed choir
*''Music for No Myth'' (1992) for mezzo, spoken chorus, flute, horn, percussion, 2 violins, viola, cello
*''New Lands'' (1993) for soprano, mezzo, baritone, piano
*''The Assize of Sighs'' (1993) for mezzo and piano
*''Clear Light and Thunder'' (1996) for medium voice and piano
*''Lynch Triptych'' (1998) for mixed choir
*''Ring Out Ring In'' (2006) for mixed choir
*''Bridal Song'' (2008) for mezzo, tenor, bass (solos)
*''In Youth is Pleasure'' (2008) for mezzo, tenor, bass (solos)
*''My Prime of Youth'' (2008) for mezzo, tenor, bass (solos)
*''The Dawning'' (2008) for mixed choir
*''The Quip'' (2008) for mixed choir
*''Love's Gleaning Tide'' (2009) for mixed choir
*''Our Hands Have Met'' (2009) for mixed choir
*''Not Yet Begun'' (2011), versions for a) soprano, viola, cello, double bass; or b) soprano, clarinet, violin, piano
*''I Breathe a Drug'' (2013) for soprano, cello, organ
*''Gaelic Prayer'' (2014) for mixed choir
Scores
The Contemporary Music Centre (Ireland) provides scores and sample recordings of a selection of de Bromhead's works, available here.
Recordings
*''Gemini'': Black Box Music BBM 1002 (CD, 1998), performed by
John Feeley (guitar).
*Violin Concerto; Symphony No. 2; ''A Lay for a Light Year'': Toccata Classics TOCC 0422 (CD, 2017), performed by Alan Smale (violin),
RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra
The National Symphony Orchestra (NSO; previously known as Radio Éireann Symphony Orchestra, RTÉ Symphony Orchestra and the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra) is the largest professional orchestra in Ireland. Housed at the National Concert Hall, D ...
,
Colman Pearce
Colman Pearce (born 22 September 1938) is an Irish pianist and conductor.
Born in Dublin, Pearce was educated at University College Dublin and studied conducting in Hilversum and Vienna. He became a conductor for the RTÉ Concert Orchestra in ...
(conductor).
References
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*
*
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External links
* Representation with th
Contemporary Music Centre, Dublin* De Bromhead page wit
Aosdana
{{DEFAULTSORT:de Bromhead, Jerome
1945 births
Living people
Alumni of the Royal Irish Academy of Music
Aosdána members
Composers for the classical guitar
Irish male classical composers
Irish classical guitarists
Musicians from County Waterford
20th-century Irish classical composers
21st-century Irish classical composers
20th-century Irish guitarists
21st-century Irish guitarists
20th-century Irish male musicians
21st-century Irish male musicians
Irish male guitarists