Born in Inverness in 1976, Stuart MacRae has established himself as one of the most distinctive composers of his generation, writing music of elemental power and emotional subtlety. His works include a Violin Concerto (2001), Hamartia for cello and ensemble (2004), and Gaudete for soprano and orchestra (2008), all of which have been performed at the BBC Proms. Works for the stage include the opera The Assassin Tree (2006) to a libretto by Simon Armitage, and the dance-opera Echo and Narcissus (2007). The opera Ghost Patrol (2012), a collaboration with writer Louise Welsh for Scottish Opera and Music Theatre Wales, won the 2013 South Bank Sky Arts Award for Opera and was shortlisted for an Olivier Award.
Stuart’s music has also been performed at the Linbury Studio of the Royal Opera House and the Edinburgh International Festival, and by ensembles including the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Scottish Ensemble, Hebrides Ensemble, BCMG and London Sinfonietta, as well as numerous orchestras.
Stuart was Composer in Association with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra from 1999 to 2003. He was resident composer at the Spannungen Kammermusikfest in Heimbach, Germany in 2003, and Edinburgh Festival Creative Fellow at the University of Edinburgh from 2005 to 2006. From 2006 to 2007 he was a resident composer at Internationales Künstlerhaus Villa Concordia in Bamberg, Germany.
Recent projects include the opera The Devil Inside, written for Music Theatre Wales and Scottish Opera, which will receive its premiere in 2016, and Parable, a setting of Wilfred Owen’s poetry to mark the 100th anniversary of World War I commissioned by the Hebrides Ensemble. Stuart is currently working on a new piece for the Choir of Gonville & Caius College, Cambridge, and a second piano sonata for pianist Simon Smith.
Photo credit – Loudon MacRae Photography
The commissioning of Birth-Rebirth was generously supported by the Britten-Pears Foundation and the RVW Trust.
