Biography

Joseph grew up in the small town of Moffat in Dumfriesshire, where he taught himself guitar from a young age. He began playing in bands and then went on to write and record his own music.

Having released his first original progressive rock EP in 2013, Joseph was accepted to study at the University of Edinburgh the following year. During his time at university, he wrote and recorded three more albums ranging from rock to traditional music.  As his skills progressed, Joseph began to focus on a career in music for film, TV and video games.

Joseph applied to the highly competitive Composing for Film and TV course at the National Film and Television School in London, and was one of only eight people accepted to start in 2019.

Joseph has shown himself to be an ambitious and innovative composer, who demonstrates originality, passion and profound talent.

How the Award Helped

Since the Award

In 2021, Joseph’s compositions appeared on the NFTS film Night of the Living Dread.  The film was nominated as a finalist for a BAFTA Los Angeles Best Student Film Award.

Biography

Aidan was born in Australia and was raised in his parents’ restaurant in Sydney before moving to Scotland at age 4. He began learning music on his ‘fluorescent green recorder’ at age 6, and went on to learn the saxophone, piano and double bass, all of which he performed on as a student at the Junior Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. It was here that he came to find an interest in composition under the tutelage of Audrey McPherson and Gareth Williams, which he then pursued by studying at the RCS under Dr Gordon McPherson.

Aidan has worked with organisations including the BBC SSO, the SCO, RCS MusicLab, the Glasgow New Music Expedition, the Glasgow Barons Orchestra, the Brodick Quartet and has worked with world-renowned performers Sinae Lee, Pascal Gallois, and traditional singer/songwriter Ainsley Hamill. Aidan is also an associate member of the LSO’s Soundhub and is the artistic director for the new music ensemble, The Hadit Collective.

Current projects include writing “Moving On”, a new work for Sinfonietta as part of winning the Craig Armstrong Prize in Composition from the RCS, planning a number of new concerts for The Hadit Collective, and working as the composer for the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland’s production of A Midsummer Nights Dream directed by Ali De Souza.

Aidan is interested in drag, identity and pop culture.

How the Award Helped

Aidan’s Dewar Arts Award supported his postgraduate studies – an MMus in Composition – at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. He writes:

“As an artist I want to make work that expresses my identity and can make people feel that they are not alone. Within my time studying at the RCS, I have come to understand my personal artistic voice and have begun intensively exploring the reasons why I write, the nature of my compositional language and how I can enable this greater sense of depth within my artistry.”

Since the Award

Update 2020:

Aidan continued to flourish at the RCS, and also took on the role of vice-president of the RCS Student’s Union.

Update 2024:

Aidan is currently completing an AHRC funded PhD at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire exploring working-class identity and experience in new interdisciplinary compositions.

Biography

Matthew is a musician with exceptional credentials, exhibiting skills in a wide variety of settings from large scale compositions involving electronics and voices to delicate chamber works.

His work regularly combines media and is often concerned with human frailties and finding the remarkable in the seemingly ordinary aspects of everyday life. Activities include selection for Yaron Deutsch’s Electric Guitar Etude Project at Darmstadt; an EP release on New York based label, Not Art Records and being shortlisted in two categories of the 2018 Scottish Awards for New Music.

Matthew’s music has been showcased across the UK and internationally, in Germany, Italy, Egypt, USA, Canada and Ireland. His music has been performed or workshopped by artists including: Royal Northern Sinfonia; Hebrides Ensemble; Red Note Ensemble; The Assembly Project; DeCoda Ensemble; Gildas Quartet; Dohnányi String Trio; Sinae Lee (pianist) and Lewis Banks (saxophonist).

His work has featured at or is programmed for future performances at festivals such as Darmstadt; The Cumnock Tryst; St Magnus International Festival; Cottier Chamber Project; Leeds Lieder Festival; EviMus Festival and Sound / Image Colloquium.

Matthew is also passionate about inclusivity within new music. This has been reinforced by being awarded the 2017 Kimie Composition Prize, which resulted in Live Music Now Scotland commissioning an interactive string trio for performances in dementia care homes and traditional concert hall settings. Further to this, Matthew received an orchestral commission for the Nevis Ensemble’s inaugural tour, which will take in 70 performances in public and community settings around Scotland as part of Glasgow2018.

How the Award Helped

Biography

A former principal trumpet of the National Youth Orchestra of Scotland, Peter gained a scholarship in 2008 to study at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.  He has since become an outstanding young composer working at the very highest level, and has been offered a scholarship to study an MMus in Composition at the Royal College of Music (RCM).

Peter music has been performed in many venues across the UK, Europe and Canada.  He has received an impressive number of commissions from a wide range of organisations and groups, including NYOS Futures (the National Youth Orchestra of Scotland’s contemporary music ensemble), the Edinburgh Incidental Orchestra, the Orchestra of the Scottish Schools’ Orchestra Trust, Bella Tromba and Trio d’ART.

Peter’s ambition is to become an important figure in Scottish contemporary music.  He believes that through studying with the world-class professors working at the RCM, he can fully realise his potential as a composer.

How the Award Helped

Biography

Originally from Darlington, Timothy moved to Scotland in 2006 to complete his undergraduate music studies in Euphonium performance. He continues his studies in music and composition at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland working towards a postgraduate master of composition degree.

His first year was successful in that his work was performed both in Australia and in the UK. Timothy’s particular passion is to work across art forms and he has completed the sound design for Joshua Armstrong’s The Sounding, for the National Youth Theatre’s workshop production Razia Sultan and for a short film by the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland students working in film and TV. He has also been selected by the Conservatoire to compose a piece for a group at the Paris Conservatoire. The piece will be performed in both Paris and Stuttgart.

Timothy is admired by performers and mentors for his combination of great talent and energy in making things happen. He co-founded the successful group edit point which is making great headway in Scotland and further afield.

How the Award Helped