Arts Council funding helps Belfast composer win top Award |
04/12/2006
The Arts Council of Northern Ireland is delighted at the news that Belfast composer, Brian Irvine, has scooped a British Composer Award, presented by the British Academy of Composers and Songwriters in association with BBC Radio 3. The top award was presented to Brian for his fairytale family opera, The Tailor’s Daughter, which was commissioned with funding through the Arts Council of Northern Ireland’s New Work Lottery scheme.
 Brian Irvine, winner of the British Composer Award, conducting the Brian Irvine Ensemble in Portugal. Arts Council support helped the Belfast composer and performer to win the top award. |
Congratulating Brian, Music Officer at the Arts Council, Robert Collins, said, The Arts Council has supported Brian over the years as his career has taken off, with various funding awards, including a Major Individual Artist Award of £10,000 in 2001. We are delighted that our confidence in Brian has been repaid with the British Composer Award, which acknowledges his growing reputation as a leading composer. He is one of the most original and engaging composers working today, and his work – whether for orchestra, theatre or film - is consistently fresh and surprising.”
 Brian Irvine, winner of the British Composer Award, performing with the Brian Irvine Ensemble. |
The Tailor’s Daughter involved the participation of 80 young singers and musicians from opera groups in Northern Ireland and Wales, leading to acclaimed performances in spring of 2005 by Cardiff Youth Opera Group at Wales Millennium Centre.
 Jenny Walker (Taylor's Daughter) and David Thaxton (Wolf) |
On receiving the award, Brian Irvine said, “They say ‘never work with children or animals’, but I found working with these young performers on The Tailor’s Daughter an immensely rewarding experience. Their energy and excitement helped the opera to surpass expectations of what youth opera can deliver. I’m proud to have won the British Composer Award, especially for a large-scale production which I feel ‘came alive’ through the incredible enthusiasm we all shared for the work.”
 The chorus from Taylor's Daughter |
Brian Irvine is currently working on an orchestral version of Roald Dahl’s poems for the Ulster Orchestra and 250 primary school children.
