Roxanna Panufnik

born in 1968

Roxanna Panufnik

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Roxanna Panufnik (born 24 April 1968 in London, UK)[1] is a British composer of Polish heritage. She is the daughter of the composer and conductor Sir Andrzej Panufnik.[2]

Since studying composition at London's Royal Academy of Music, Panufnik has since written a wide range of pieces including opera, ballet, music theatre, choral works, chamber compositions and music for film and television which are regularly performed all over the world.[3]

Among her most widely performed works are Westminster Mass, commissioned for Westminster Cathedral Choir on the occasion of Cardinal Hume's 75th birthday, The Music Programme, an opera for Polish National Opera's millennium season which received its UK premiere at the BOC Covent Garden Festival, and settings for solo voices and orchestra of Vikram Seth's Beastly Tales - the first of which was commissioned by the BBC for Patricia Rozario and City of London Sinfonia.[3] All three Tales are available on disc.

Panufnik has a particular interest in world music; a recent culmination of this was Abraham, a violin concerto commissioned by Savannah Music Festival for Daniel Hope, incorporating Christian, Islamic and Jewish music. This was then converted into an overture, commissioned by the World Orchestra for Peace and premiered in Jerusalem under the baton of Valery Gergiev.

Recently premiered was her oratorio "Dance of Life" (in Latin and Estonian), incorporating her fourth mass setting, for multiple Tallinn choirs and the Tallinn Philharmonic Orchestra (commissioned to mark their tenure of European Capital of Culture 2011). She has just completed "Four World Seasons" for violinist Tasmin Little which will be premiered with the London Mozart Players and broadcast live on BBC Radio 3 on 2 March 2012, as part of BBC Radio 3's Music Nation, celebrating the 2012 Olympics.

The Bristol-based Exultate Singers, under their founder-conductor David Ogden, has given premiere of Roxanna Panufnik's Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis for the London Festival of Contemporary Church Music. Of the two pieces, Roxanna Panufnik said: "I consulted my good friend, The Rev. Canon Michael Hampel, and he suggested the idea of interpolating the Ave Maria with the Magnificat - as those words of the Archangel Gabriel telling Mary that she was carrying God's son must have been utmost in her mind for the Magnificat,which is her response to that awesome news - the words she says when she visits her cousin Elizabeth. Piecing the two texts together, they have very close associations - it seemed a very natural thing to do. The piece is dedicated to the two commissioning choirs, Exultate Singers and St Mark's Episcopal Church Choir in Philadelphia, with thanks for our very happy continuing collaborations."

Panufnik has also recently been appointed inaugural Associate Composer with the London Mozart Players, 2012-2015.

Panufnik is also a Vice President of the Joyful Company of Singers. www.jcos.co.uk

Selected works

  • Westminster Mass (1997), commissioned for Cardinal Basil Humes 75th birthday, performed in May 1998 at Westminster Cathedral
  • Powers & Dominions (2001), a concertino for harp and orchestra
  • Inkle and Yarico (1996), a reconstruction of an anti-slavery play of the 18th century
  • The Music Programme (1999), a chamber opera commissioned by Polish National Opera (based on a novel by Paul Micou)
  • Beastly Tales (2001/2), for soprano and orchestra
  • I Dreamd, one of nine choral pieces forming A Garland for Linda in memory of Linda McCartney
  • The Upside Down Sailor, a collaboration with Richard Stilgoe
  • Spirit Moves, a quintet for the Fine Arts Brass Ensemble
  • Private Joe, a work for baritone Nigel Cliffe and the Schidlof String Quartet
  • Odi et Amo, a ballet for London Musici and the Rambert Dance Company
  • Olivia, a string quartet for the Maggini Quartet, with optional children's choir
  • Love Abide (2006), a piece for choir, mezzo-soprano, organ, harp and strings commissioned by the Choral Arts Society of Philadelphia for its 25th anniversary
  • Wild Ways (2008), a piece for choir, and shakuhachi commissioned by the Nonsuch Singers and Kiku Day
  • So Strong Is His Love (2008) a piece for choir and quartet commissioned by the Waltham Singers for the 25th Anniversary of their conductor: Andrew Fardell.
  • All Shall Be Well (2009), an Advent carol commissioned by Exultate Singers.
  • The Call (2010), an Advent carol commissioned by St John's College, Cambridge
  • Magnificat (2012), a piece for choir commissioned by Exultate Singers.
  • Nunc Dimittus (2012), a piece for choir commissioned by Exultate Singers.
  • The Song of Names (2012), a piece for choir and chamber orchestra commissioned by The Portsmouth Grammar School for Remembrance Day.

References

  1. PANUFNIK, Roxanna, Who's Who 2012, A & C Black, 2012; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2011 ; online edn, Nov 2011 accessed 9 April 2012
  2. Shave, Nick (October 2009). "The Shape of Sounds to Come". BBC Music Magazine 18 (1): 2632.
  3. 3.0 3.1 Roxanna Panufnik - Classical Composer. Retrieved on March 27, 2013.

External links

  • Official website
  • Genesis Foundation Panufnik texts page, accessed 3 February 2010
  • Guardian review (10 November 2009), accessed 3 February 2010
  • Orchestra of the Swan biography, accessed 3 February 2010
  • Joyful Company of Singers
This page was last modified 16.02.2014 15:54:45

This article uses material from the article Roxanna Panufnik from the free encyclopedia Wikipedia and it is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.