Professor Andrew Lewis
Professor of Composition
Affiliations
Links
- http://www.andrewlewis.org.uk
Composer website - https://electrocd.com/en/artiste/lewis_an/Andrew_Lewis
Electrocd (Ymx média): Acousmatic Music Publisher - https://composersedition.com/andrewlewis
Composers Edition: Notated Music Publisher
Contact info
Professor of Composition
Department of Music, Drama and Performance
Email: a.p.lewis@bangor.ac.uk
Phone: 01248 382188
Location: Music Building
Website: www.andrewlewis.org.uk
Andrew Lewis is an award-winning composer and an internationally recognised figure in the field of acousmatic composition. His more recent work includes more music for orchestras and ensembles, but retains a strong interest in the materiality of sound, and the use of technology to realise new kinds of musical ideas. He is especially interested in spatial sound, in the relationship between 'real-world' and 'abstract' sounds, and in the phenomena of aural perception as part of the creative process.
(For more information, see 'Overview' below.)
Overview
Andrew Lewis is an award-winning composer and an internationally recognised figure in the field of acousmatic composition. His most recent work includes more music for orchestras and ensembles, but retains a strong interest in the phenomenon of sound as raw material and the use of technology to realise new kinds of musical ideas. He is especially interested in spatial sound, in the relationship between 'real-world' and 'abstract' sounds, and in the phenomena of aural perception as part of the creative process.
His music first came to prominence through the award of several international prizes, including the EMAS/PRS Prize for 'Storm-Song' (piano and tape) in 1986, which was also featured at the Gaudeamus Music Week (Amsterdam). Subsequent awards include First Prizes at Concours de Musique Electroacoustique de Bourges, 1997 ('Ascent'); Concurso Internacional ART’S XXI, Valencia, 2001 ('Cable Bay'); Concurso internacional de música eletroacústica, São Paulo, 2003 ('Penmon Point'); KLANG, Montpellier, 2016 ('Fern Hill'); Destellos, Argentina, 2017 ('Skyline') and KLANG, Montpellier, 2018 ('Lebenslieder'). In 2004 he was the recipient of a prestigious 'Euphonie d’Or' at Bourges for one of the ten most significant works of the decade 1995-2004 ('Ascent'), and in the same year his string quartet 'Tempo Reale' was chosen by Sir Peter Maxwell Davies for a Wigmore Hall concert celebrating the 60th anniversary of SPNM.
His instrumental music has been commissioned and performed by numerous prominent artists, including the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, l'Orchestre national Montpellier Occitanie, the Kreutzer Quartet, Psappha, Ensemble Mise-En, Ensemble Cymru, Duo Contour, UPROAR, Elinor Bennet, Jane Chapman, Wendy Holdaway, Yoshikazu Iwamoto, Gerald Garcia, Phillip Mead, Xenia Pestova, Carla Rees, Heather Roche and Vivienne Spiteri.
Recent projects include the audiovisial work 'LEXICON' (funded by the Wellcome Trust) which was seen live by more than 1700 people during its UK tour, and 'Fern Hill' for orchestra and electronics, which was commissioned for the BBC National Orchestra of Wales for the centenary celebrations of Dylan Thomas, and broadcast live on BBC Radio 3. This work won first prize in the KLANG! competition, Montpellier, and was given its French premiere there by the Orchestre national Montpellier Occitanie. In 2016 he was awarded a Leverhulme Research Fellowship to compose a large scale work for orchestra and electronics featuring the voices of people with dementia and their partners who care for them ('Lebenslieder'). The resulting work was awarded second prize in the KLANG! competition, Montpellier, in 2018. In 2019 'Straatmuziek' for flute, clarinet, piano and electronics was one of only two works chosen to represent Wales at the ISCM World Music Days in Estonia. In 2018 he was one of ten composers from Wales commissioned for the debut concert of the UPROAR Ensemble, and in 2020 completed a new commission them for ensemble and electronics, for a tour in the UK and Europe.
Numerous recordings are available, including two collections of his works: 'Miroirs obscurs' and 'Au-dèla' (empreintes DIGITALes) as well as 'Schattenklavier' on Shadow Piano (Innova). His instrumental and vocal music is published by Composers Edition, and his acousmatic music by Ymx média, Montréal (electrocd.com).
He is married with four grown-up daughters, and lives in Bangor.
WEBSITES
- Composer website: www.andrewlewis.org.uk
- Acousmatic music publisher: electrocd.com
- Scores publisher: composersedition.com
Teaching and Supervision
Undergraduate and Taught Postgraduate modules:
- Sonic Art
- Music Since 1850
- The Nineteenth Century Symphony
- Interactive Sound and Music
- Composition
- Acousmatic Composition
- Composition in Context
I am currently main supervisor for three PhD's in composition and electroacoustic composition:
- Sara Pinheiro: Acousmatic Foley
- Hu Yu: Nuo Opera in Acousmatic Music
- Shen Lin: Chinese Folk Music in Interactive and Acousmatic Music
Recently completed PhD projects in Composition:
- Katherine Betteridge: Nature and Magic – Rediscovering Connections (2020)
- Steven Tunnicliffe: Perception and Structure in Electroacoustic Music (2019)
- Richard Garrett: Generative Music from Fuzzy Logic and Probability (2017)
- Emmannouil Gregoriadis: An Invitation to Listen: exploring engagement in technologically mediated music (2016)
Other
Departmental Responsibilities
- Head of Department
- Studio Director
Contact Info
Professor of Composition
Department of Music, Drama and Performance
Email: a.p.lewis@bangor.ac.uk
Phone: 01248 382188
Location: Music Building
Website: www.andrewlewis.org.uk
Andrew Lewis is an award-winning composer and an internationally recognised figure in the field of acousmatic composition. His more recent work includes more music for orchestras and ensembles, but retains a strong interest in the materiality of sound, and the use of technology to realise new kinds of musical ideas. He is especially interested in spatial sound, in the relationship between 'real-world' and 'abstract' sounds, and in the phenomena of aural perception as part of the creative process.
(For more information, see 'Overview' below.)
Research areas and keywords
Keywords
- M Music - acousmatic, electroacoustic, composition, live electronics
Education / academic qualifications
- 2019 - Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy
- 1991 - PhD Composition
- 1991 - PGCE Music in Education
- 1984 - BMus (Hons)
- Professional , Member of the Mechanical Copyright Protection Society (MCPS)
- Professional , Member of the Incorporated Society of Musicians (ISM)
- Professional , Member of the Performing Right Society (PRS)
Research outputs (37)
- Published
Two Lakes: acousmatic music in 8 channels
Research output: Non-textual form › Composition
- Published
Three Storms: acousmatic music in 8 channels
Research output: Non-textual form › Composition
- Published
Canzon in Double Echo: for ensemble and electronics
Research output: Non-textual form › Composition
Prof. activities and awards (63)
Two Lakes (performance)
Activity: Other › Types of Public engagement and outreach - Festival/Exhibition
LEXICON (performance)
Activity: Other › Types of Public engagement and outreach - Festival/Exhibition
Two Lakes (performance)
Activity: Other › Types of Public engagement and outreach - Festival/Exhibition
Accolades (7)
Shortlisted for ISCM World Music Days 2023
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)
PRIX CIME 2023
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)
Selected ISCM World Music Days 2019
Prize: National/international honour
Projects (4)
Commercial Research
Project: Research
Spatial Audio in Virtual and Augmented Reality Technologies
Project: Research
Songs from afar: composing the experience of dementia
Project: Research
Media coverage (1)
Interview on the composition and subject of 'In Memory'
Press/Media: Other