Biography

"Masterful", "Dazzling", "Brilliantly inventive", "Incredibly moving" - just some of the words critics have used to describe the work of British-American composer David Bruce, whose music has rapidly been gaining recognition on both sides of the Atlantic for both the power and ambition of its expression, as well as for its technical mastery of orchestration and form.

Bruce's music draws on the wild dances and heart-felt laments of gypsy music, flamenco, klezmer and other folk traditions, as well as having a direct connection to composers like Stravinsky, Janáček, Berio and Bartók who shared similar passions. Often witty and always colorful, pulsing with earthy rhythms, Bruce's music has a directness rarely heard in contemporary music, but also contains an emotional core of striking intimacy and sensitivity.

David Bruce is developing a growing international reputation as a composer, with performances this season in the US, UK, Germany, Spain, Belgium, Australia and Israel. His work has attracted the attention of some of the world's leading musicians, including soprano Dawn Upshaw, Klezmer pioneer Giora Feidman, clarinettist Todd Palmer and the St Lawrence String Quartet.

Upshaw in particular has played an important role in bringing Bruce's music to the attention of a wider audience, instigating the commission for his opera A Bird in Your Ear, and performing his song-cycle Piosenki at Carnegie Hall and elsewhere. Upshaw was also the soloist in a new song-cycle with ensemble, The North Wind was a Woman, commissioned for the Gala opening of the 2009 season by the Chamber Music Society of the Lincoln Center.

Other recent commissions include Gumboots, commissioned by Carnegie Hall for clarinettist Todd Palmer and the St Lawrence String Quartet, which has had over 20 performances by five different groups in its first two years, including a repeat performance at the 2010 Spoleto festival by Palmer and SLSQ; Groanbox for New York's Metropolis Ensemble featuring his friends the Groanbox Boys; and Caja de Musica for Concert Artists Guild Winner Bridget Kibbey's Carnegie Hall recital debut.

Current projects include a third commission from Carnegie Hall to premiered by Ensemble ACJW in Feb 2010; a new double concerto for world-renowned klezmer clarinettist Giora Feidman; a solo piano piece for pianist Bruce Levingston to be premiered at Carnegie Hall in 2011; a new flute, viola and harp trio for San Diego-based 'Art of Elan'; and a new chamber opera for The Opera Group, based on Philip Pullman's short story The FireWork Maker's Daughter.

Bruce's work in opera has attracted considerable attention. His one-act opera A Bird in Your Ear (2008) was commissioned by Bard College, NY and after its successful premiere has had performances by New York City Opera as part of the 2009 VOX festival; as a finalist in the National Opera Association's Chamber Opera competition 2008; and with students at NYU. The New York Times hailed A Bird in Your Ear as "by far the best...rich...enchanting...skillfully written and imaginative".

Bruce's earlier chamber opera Push! was also highly successful. Commissioned by the Genesis Foundation and premiered by Tête à Tête in London and on tour in the UK in 2006, Push! was Critic's Choice for 2006 in both The Telegraph and Classical Music Magazine and received universal critical acclaim.

Other previous opera commissions include an acclaimed series of mini-operas - Out of the Ordinary, for The Opera Group, Has it Happened Yet? (2002) for ENO Studios and Tête à Tête; Seven Tons of Dung for Tête à Tête (1999); incidental music to the Trestle Theatre Company's show The Smallest Person (2004); and instrumental pieces for the London Sinfonietta, BBC Symphony Orchestra, the Presteigne Festival and the Lake District Summer Music Festival.

Bruce was awarded the prestigious Lili Boulanger Memorial Award in 2008, after a nomination by Osvaldo Golijov (a previous nomination in 1998 came from Sir Harrison Birtwistle); other prizes include the Royal Philharmonic Society Composition Competition in 1994, the Adam Prize (King's College) and the Herberts Howellls Prize (RCM).

David Bruce was born in Connecticut, USA to English & Welsh parents (he holds both UK and US citizenships). He began his undergraduate studies in music in 1988 at Nottingham University (composition tutors included Jim Fulkerson and Nicholas Sackman), before moving on to the Royal College of Music (1991-3) where he obtained a Masters Degree in Composition, studying with Tim Salter and George Benjamin; and a PhD in Composition at King's College, London (1995-9), under the supervision of Sir Harrison Birtwistle.

Complementing his work as a composer, Bruce runs the music and technology company Red Balloon Technology Ltd whose sites include the popular sheet music site 8notes.com and the composers' site CompositionToday.