James Dillon (composer)

James Dillon ( born October 29, 1950 in Glasgow ) is a Scottish composer.

Dillon 1968 studied art and design at the Glasgow School of Art, 1970 Linguistics at the University College of London, 1971 Acoustics at the University of North London and from 1971 to 1972 mathematics at Gordon Millar at the Tavistock Institute; besides, he had piano lessons with Eleanor Purse, studied Indian rhythms with Punita Gupta and took 1984-1985 courses for computer music at IRCAM. As a composer, however, he was self-taught.

In 1978 he was awarded first prize in the competition of the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival. Here his first string quartet in 1983, premiered by the Arditti String Quartet, which also played the premieres of his other string quartets. The Huddersfield festival devoted to his works in 1995 a major retrospective.

In 1982 he received the Kranichsteiner Music Prize in Darmstadt. He taught from 1982 to 1992 in Darmstadt and initiated in 1991 at the Gothenburg Summer Academy the composition class. In addition, he was between 1989 and 1992 guest lecturer at Goldsmiths College, University of London, and between 1993 and 1996 at the University of Central England in Birmingham. He has taught in numerous countries in Europe, 2003, at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music in the USA.

Between 1985 and 1996, was Dillon's " German Triptych " that the works of " crossing ", 1985, written for the London Sinfonietta, " bright night " for large orchestra (1987) and the Flute Concerto, " lightning ", performed in 1996 by Pierre -Yves Artaud and the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra conducted by Martyn Brabbins covers.

In the 1980s and 1990s came with "Nine Rivers" a series of nine large ambitious works in many different occupation, which are connected by the metaphor of the river and open into the large front piece " Okeanos ", a work commissioned by the BBC Proms in 1996. Also for the Proms was his " Violin Concerto " written, which was premiered in 2000 by Thomas Zehetmair and in turn, the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra under Martyn Brabbins.

With " L' évolution du vol" Dillon created a song cycle for female voice and chamber orchestra. The first volume of " dream factory ," a series of violin pieces, was honored by the Royal Philharmonic Society with the first prize in the field of chamber music, as well as in 2003, the fifth volume of his cycle for piano solo "The Book of Elements". With the resulting behalf of the Société Philharmonique de Bruxelles "Via Sacra " and "La Navette ", a work commissioned for the Donaueschingen Music Days 2001 Dillon presented the first two parts of the four-part cycle planned " Via Sacra ".

2004 premiered in Porto his opera Philomela, in March 2005, the Quatuor Diotima played the world premiere of his " Fourth String Quartet ," for which he was also awarded the Royal Philharmonic Society Music Award.