John Alexander

Professional

Composer/Lyricist:	Composer
Genre:	Concert

Biography

John Alexander - a late developer, having left school at 15 without qualifications - studied with Edmund Rubbra (GSMD, London) and, later, at the University of Sussex with Jonathan Harvey and Peter Weigold. When still at university, his piece fusion (ww, pno, perc, voices) was selected from 129 entries for performance at the Concordia Composers' Forum in Liverpool.

In 1992, vernal equinox (mixed wind ensemble) was selected from competition for performance at the annual BASBWE Congress, Warwick. His trombone trio, moving parts, was commissioned for performance in several towns in Germany as part of their national brass competitions during 1994. In 1999, the jury of the British & International Bass Forum (BIBF) awarded John first prize for his solo double bass piece abalone. More recently, in September 2002, unquiet air for 4 double basses and 5 balloons received the audience prize at the Scottish Bass Weekend held at RSAMD, Glasgow. He was featured composer at Bass-Fest 2001 and will be again in 2004.

John is currently an spnm short listed composer.His work has been performed in Europe, USA, Japan and Australia, by Piers Adams (recorders), Marco Blaauw (tmpt), Corrado Canonici (db), Richard Durrant (guitar), Michael Finnissy (pno), Mette Hanskov (db), David Heyes (db), Peter Leerdam (db), Nancy Ruffer (flute), Maxim Rysanov (vla), Suzanne Willison (harp); Camarada, Cambridge Consort of Voices, the Elysian Singers, the Linos Wind Quintet, Mardi Brass Quintet, and the Northern Saxophone Quartet, amongst others - including many amateur performers. His music for double bass is published by Recital Music.

Last year (2002), he was commissioned by the spnm in their c4k project, to write music (from chalk to shingle) for performance by 60 children from two Brighton junior schools. John was also assistant composer to Alasdair Nicolson on the spnm's soundinventors scheme for two Hastings schools. Other recent commissioning bodies for John's work include Trinity College of Music, Wells Cathedral School, Adur Festival and BIBF. Appointed to write the imposed music for the International Double Bass Convention & Competition to be held at Wells, Somerset in August 2004, he has also been invited to chair the international competition jury at that convention.Currently teaching composition at a comprehensive school in his home town (also his place of birth in October 1942), having worked most of his life in architecture, he is now able to devote more time to writing music, emerging as a late but developing composer.

Important Works		Performances
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