THE RESONANCE ATLAS
Rory Boyle
Biography
Rory Boyle (born 1951 in Ayr) is a Scottish composer whose catalogue encompasses orchestral, chamber, vocal and theatrical music, including works for young performers. After early musical training as a chorister at St George's Chapel, Windsor, he studied at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama and subsequently with Lennox Berkeley in London. His awards include the BBC Scottish Composers' Prize, two Royal Philharmonic Society prizes and the Zaiks Prize for Winter Music.
Boyle has received commissions from performers including Evelyn Glennie and Nicholas Daniel and has written several operas, notably Kaspar Hauser, Child of Europe, which won a British Composer Award in 2010. He also served as the Scottish Chamber Orchestra's first Composer Laureate for Schools and taught composition at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. His chamber catalogue includes Beastly Tales, Four Ways to Play Reels and a series of piano trios.
Why this music interests us
Boyle's chamber music often combines playfulness with an alert sense of character and narrative. Beastly Tales suggests opportunities for introducing younger listeners to contemporary music, while 4 Ways to Play Reels (1997) refracts Scottish dance traditions through a wind quintet whose players also double on related instruments. The juxtaposition of wit, technical invention and familiar musical gestures is particularly attractive.
Selected works & listening
Beastly Tales; That Blessed Wood; 4 Ways to Play Reels (1997; wind quintet with instrumental doubling); Kaspar Hauser, Child of Europe
Further information