Nicholas Sackman (born 12 April 1950) is an English classical composer.

Education

Sackman studied composition at the

University of Nottingham The University of Nottingham is a public research university in Nottingham, England. It was founded as University College Nottingham in 1881, and was granted a royal charter in 1948. Nottingham's main campus (University Park Campus, Nottingh ...

, completed his MA at the

University of Leeds The University of Leeds is a public research university in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It was established in 1874 as the Yorkshire College of Science. In 1884, it merged with the Leeds School of Medicine (established 1831) and was renamed Y ...

with the

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 ...

Alexander Goehr Peter Alexander Goehr (; 10 August 1932 – 26 August 2024) was a German-born English composer of contemporary classical music and academic teacher. A long-time professor of music at the University of Cambridge, Goehr influenced many notable c ...

in 1974, and was subsequently awarded a Doctorate of Music from the University of Nottingham in 1996.

Early performances

During this time he had many performances both in the United Kingdom and further afield with ''Ensembles and Cadenzas'' performed at the BBC Young Composers Forum and the Gaudeamus Festival, ''A Pair of Wings'' at the Bath Music Fest and the 1974 ISCM Festival, ''Paraphrase'', premiered by the

London Sinfonietta The London Sinfonietta is an English contemporary chamber music, chamber orchestra founded in 1968 and based in London. The ensemble has headquarters at Kings Place and is Resident Orchestra at the Southbank Centre. Since its inaugural concert ...

, the ''String Quartet no. 2'' and his ''Piano Sonata'', written for Peter Lawson. Following his study he became a Head of Music in secondary schools in London and then Hertfordshire, which led to a number of commissions for amateur orchestral players including ''Mosaic'' for the Nottingham Youth Orchestra, ''Cecilia dances'' for the Hertfordshire County Youth Orchestra, and sets of pieces for young performers entitled ''Folios''.

University of Nottingham

In 1990 he was awarded a composition lectureship at the University of Nottingham. Following his appointment Sackman has received numerous commissions including his magnus orchestral work ''Hawthorn'' commissioned by the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

, premiered at the 1993 Proms, and released by

NMC Recordings NMC Recordings is a British recording label and a charity which specialises in recording works by living composers from the British Isles. History The composer Colin Matthews founded NMC in 1989, with financial assistance from the Gustav Hols ...

, ''Vivace'' for

Sinfonia ViVA Sinfonia Viva is a British orchestra based in Derby, England. It gives concerts in a number of cities and venues, including the following: * Cleethorpes ( Meridian Park) * Derby (Cathedral, and the annual open-air concert in Darley Park) * Grimsb ...

, ''Meld'' for Philip Mead and the RNCM Brass Ensemble, a percussion quartet entitled ''Puppets'' for Drumstruck, and more recently ''Concerto in Black'' for the

Birmingham Contemporary Music Group Birmingham Contemporary Music Group (BCMG) is a British chamber ensemble based in Birmingham, England specialising in the performance of Contemporary classical music, new and contemporary music. BCMG performs regularly at the CBSO Centre and Symph ...

. He was commissioned, along with 100 other British composers, to write the song '' Maiden in the Moor'' for the recently released NMC Songbook (winner of a 2009 Gramophone award), and many recordings of his works appear on the Metier label. His works have been performed across the UK, including at the

Leeds Festival The Reading and Leeds Festivals are a pair of annual music festivals that take place in Reading, Berkshire, Reading and Leeds in England. The events take place simultaneously on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the August bank holiday weekend ...

, the Bath Festival, Royal Festival Hall,

Queen Elizabeth Hall The Queen Elizabeth Hall (QEH) is a music venue on the South Bank in London, England, that hosts European classical music, classical, jazz, and avant-garde music, talks and dance performances. It was opened in 1967, with a concert conducted by ...

, Purcell Room, St John's Smith Square,

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London, England. It has a seating capacity of 5,272. Since the hall's opening by Queen Victoria in 1871, the world's leading artists from many performance genres ...

, and the

Edinburgh Festival __NOTOC__ This is a list of Arts festival, arts and cultural festivals regularly taking place in Edinburgh, Scotland. The city has become known for its festivals since the establishment in 1947 of the Edinburgh International Festival and the ...

, as well as in France, Belgium, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Sweden and America. A recording of his recent ''Concertino'' for violin and orchestra will shortly be released on the Parma label, and his first ''Violin Sonata'', written for Ruth Palmer was premiered in March 2010.

Reputation

Sackman has asserted a "direct and uncompromising musical voice – one in which cogent argument and powerful fantasy are realized in strikingly memorable forms."
Schott Music, Retrieved 8 January 2009 Similarly, when reworking pre-existing music he adapts it into his own highly individualistic contemporary classical music, contemporary idiom to the extent that the quotation appears inevitable.

References

External links

Chronological list of compositions

Nicholas Sackman at Schott Music
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sackman, Nicholas 1950 births Living people 20th-century English classical composers 21st-century English classical composers 21st-century English male composers English male classical composers Alumni of the University of Nottingham Alumni of the University of Leeds 20th-century English male musicians