Anna Clyne
Short Biography (450 words):
Described as a “composer of uncommon gifts and unusual methods” in a New York Times profile and as “fearless” by NPR, GRAMMY-nominated Anna Clyne is one of the most in-demand composers today, working with orchestras, choreographers, filmmakers, and visual artists around the world. Clyne was named the 8th most performed contemporary composer in the world and the most performed living female British composer in 2022.
Clyne has been commissioned and presented by the world’s most dynamic and revered arts institutions, including the Barbican, Carnegie Hall, Kennedy Center, Los Angeles Philharmonic, MoMA, Philharmonie de Paris, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, San Francisco Ballet, and the Sydney Opera House; and her music has opened such events as the Edinburgh International Festival, The Last Night of the Proms, and the New York Philharmonic’s 2021–2022 season.
Clyne often collaborates on creative projects across the music industry, including Between the Rooms, a film with choreographer Kim Brandstrup and LA Opera, as well as the Nico Project at the Manchester International Festival, a stage work about pop icon Nico’s life that featured Clyne’s reimagining of The Marble Index for orchestra and voices. Clyne has also reimagined tracks from Thievery Corporation’s The Cosmic Game for the electronica duo with orchestra, and her music has been programmed by such artists as Björk.
Several recent projects have explored Clyne’s fascination with visual arts, including Color Field, inspired by the artwork of Mark Rothko and Abstractions, inspired by five contemporary artworks. In January 2023 Clyne presented a three-part series for BBC Radio 3 called ‘The Art of Music with Anna Clyne’. Recent projects in collaboration with the dance world have included the world premiere of choreographer Pam Tanowitz’s dance set to Breathing Statues for the Royal Ballet in London and performances of DANCE by the San Francisco Ballet with choreography by Nicolas Blanc. Other recent collaborators include such notable musicians as Jess Gillam, Martin Fröst, Pekka Kuusisto, and Yo-Yo Ma.
In 2022–2023, Clyne serves as Composer-in-Residence with the Philharmonia Orchestra and the Trondheim Symphony Orchestra, as well as the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra starting in the 2023–2024 season. Past residencies include the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, L’Orchestre national d’Île-de-France, and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra.
Clyne’s music is represented on several labels and her works Prince of Clouds and Night Ferry were nominated for 2015 GRAMMY Awards. Her cello concerto DANCE, recorded by soloist Inbal Segev, the London Philharmonic Orchestra, and Marin Alsop, has garnered more than seven million plays on Spotify.
Clyne’s music is published exclusively by Boosey & Hawkes. www.boosey.com/clyne
Long Biography (700 Words): Described as a “composer of uncommon gifts and unusual methods” in a New York Times profile and as “fearless” by NPR, GRAMMY-nominated Anna Clyne is one of the most in-demand composers today, working with orchestras, choreographers, filmmakers, and visual artists around the world. Clyne was named the 8th most performed contemporary composer in the world and the most performed living female British composer in 2022.
Clyne has been commissioned and presented by the world’s most dynamic and revered arts institutions, including the Barbican, Carnegie Hall, Kennedy Center, Los Angeles Philharmonic, MoMA, Philharmonie de Paris, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, San Francisco Ballet, and the Sydney Opera House; and her music has opened such events as the Edinburgh International Festival, The Last Night of the Proms, and the New York Philharmonic’s 2021–2022 season.
Clyne often collaborates on creative projects across the music industry, including Between the Rooms, a film with choreographer Kim Brandstrup and LA Opera, as well as the Nico Project at the Manchester International Festival, a stage work about pop icon Nico’s life that featured Clyne’s reimagining of The Marble Index for orchestra and voices. Clyne has also reimagined tracks from Thievery Corporation’s The Cosmic Game for the electronica duo with orchestra, and her music has been programmed by such artists as Björk.
Several recent projects have explored Clyne’s fascination with visual arts, including Color Field, inspired by the artwork of Mark Rothko; Abstractions, inspired by five contemporary artworks; and Woman Holding a Balance, a film collaboration with artist Jyll Bradley. In January 2023 Clyne presented a three-part series for BBC Radio 3 called ‘The Art of Music with Anna Clyne’.
Recent projects in collaboration with the dance world have included the world premiere of choreographer Pam Tanowitz’s dance set to Breathing Statues for the Royal Ballet in London and performances of DANCE by the San Francisco Ballet with choreography by Nicolas Blanc.
Other recent and upcoming premieres include In the Gale for cello and bird song, written for Yo-Yo Ma; Glasslands, a saxophone concerto for Jess Gillam; Weathered, a clarinet concerto for Martin Fröst; Time and Tides, a violin concerto for Pekka Kuusisto; as well as a trilogy of Beethoven-inspired works—Stride for string orchestra, Breathing Statues for string quartet, and Shorthand for solo cello and string orchestra.
In 2022–2023, Clyne serves as Composer-in-Residence with the Philharmonia Orchestra and the Trondheim Symphony Orchestra, as well as the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra starting in the 2023–2024 season. Past residencies include the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Berkeley Symphony, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, L’Orchestre national d’Île-de-France, and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra. She is the founding mentor composer for the Orchestra of St Luke’s DeGaetano Composition Institute and has served as the Director of the New York Youth Symphony’s young composers program, Making Score.
Clyne’s music is represented on AVIE Records, Cantaloupe Music, Cedille, MajorWho Media, New Amsterdam, Resound, Tzadik, and VIA labels. Prince of Clouds was nominated for a 2015 GRAMMY Award for Best Classical Composition and Night Ferry was nominated the same year for Best Engineered Album (Classical). Her cello concerto DANCE, recorded by soloist Inbal Segev, the London Philharmonic Orchestra, and Marin Alsop, has garnered more than seven million plays on Spotify.
In 2020, AVIE Records released Mythologies, a portrait album featuring Clyne's works Masquerade, This Midnight Hour, The Seamstress, Night Ferry, and <<rewind<<, recorded live by the BBC Symphony Orchestra with soloists Jennifer Koh and Irene Buckley and conductors Marin Alsop, Sakari Oramo, Andrew Litton, and André de Ridder. Alsop, a longtime champion of Clyne’s work, praised her, stating: “Anna Clyne is someone I look to for great music. It’s always emotional and driven by her heart, but skillfully composed.”
Clyne is the recipient of the Hindemith Prize; a Charles Ives Fellowship from the American Academy of Arts and Letters; awards from Meet the Composer, the American Music Center, the Foundation for Contemporary Arts, and the Jerome Foundation; prizes from ASCAP and SEAMUS; and she was nominated for the Times Breakthrough Award. Clyne holds a Bachelor of Music degree with honours from Edinburgh University, studying with Marina Adamia, and a Master of Music degree from Manhattan School of Music, where she studied with Julia Wolfe.
Clyne's music is published exclusively by Boosey & Hawkes. www.boosey.com/clyne
