Ann Cleare facts for kids

Ann Cleare (born 1983 in County Offaly) is a talented Irish composer. She creates new and exciting music. Ann is also an assistant professor at Trinity College Dublin, where she teaches music. In 2019, she won a very important award, the Ernst von Siemens Composers' Prize. She shared this prize with Annesley Black and Mithatcan Öcal.

Ann's Education

Ann Cleare studied music with her teachers John Godfrey and Jesse Ronneau. She went to University College Cork and earned a master's degree there. Later, she studied in Paris at IRCAM, which is a famous music research center. Ann then completed her PhD in composition at Harvard University. Her teachers there were Chaya Czernowin and Hans Tutschku.

On Magnetic Fields: A Musical Journey

One of Ann's interesting works is called on magnetic fields. She created this piece between 2011 and 2012. The Wittener Tage für neue Kammermusik asked her to write it. The Collegium Novum Zürich first performed it.

This music separates the performers into three small groups. Two solo violin players act like "electric currents." They help guide how the musicians play together. Ann later made a version for two violins and a loudspeaker. The Riot Ensemble performed this version in London in 2018.

Ann explained her idea:

At the center of two of the groups is a solo violin. I think of both solo violins as "electric currents." They are like wiry voices that charge the electricity of the group around them. They wrap layers of sounds around the violins. This creates an "electric cloud" for the violins to speak from.

Eöl: Sounds of Wind and Metal

In 2015, the MATA Festival asked Ann Cleare to write a new piece. She wrote Eöl for a group of small percussion instruments. These instruments are surrounded by a small musical ensemble. The percussion instruments are made from different metals. This helps create many different sounds.

Ann talked about the name Eöl:

The word "eolian" means something carried or shaped by the wind. This relates to how the accordion sounds in the piece. It's like a way for other instruments to change and interact. The title also refers to Eöl, an elf from J. R. R. Tolkien's stories. He was skilled at weaving metals into magical armor. The music creates a similar "sonic weaving." This leads to the percussionist's metallic hands forming sounds.

Special Concerts Featuring Ann's Music

A "portrait concert" is a special show that features only one composer's music. On March 1, 2018, the International Contemporary Ensemble presented a portrait concert of Ann Cleare's work. This concert took place at Miller Theater. They performed several of her pieces, including a new one called teeth of light, tongue of waves. Other works included to another of that other, the square of yellow light that is your window, and Dorchadas.

Ann's Awards and Achievements

Ann Cleare has received many awards for her amazing music:

• 2006: College Scholar from University College Cork for excellent studies.
• 2010: Shortlisted for the Gaudeamus Prize in Holland.
• 2012: Derek C. Bok Excellence in Teaching Award from Harvard University.
• 2012: Named one of NPR's top composers under 40 by WQXR, New York.
• June 2013: Staubach Honorarium recipient from IMD (Darmstadt Music Courses), Germany.
• February 2019: Ernst von Siemens Composer Prize.
• October 2019: Honorary Doctorate from the National University of Ireland.

Solo Portrait Concerts

Ann's music has been featured in special concerts:

• March 2018: Miller Theatre, Columbia University, with The International Contemporary Ensemble.
• October 2019: Musikfabrik, Cologne.
• November 2019: Riot Ensemble, Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, UK; broadcast on BBC Radio 3.

Important Commissions and Performances

• April 2015: Received a MATA Commission for the 2015 Festival. She was one of only three composers chosen from over 950 applications.
• April 2020: Her work was selected for the International Society for Contemporary Music – New Zealand Festival 2020.

Selected Musical Works

Ann Cleare writes many different kinds of music. Here are some examples:

Orchestra Music

• eyam v (woven) for special flutes, clarinets, and a full orchestra (2015–17).
• phôsphors (...of ether) for orchestra (2012/13).
• Claustrophobia – Four Movements for String Orchestra (2005–2006).

Opera

• One Here Now: A Sonic Theatre for voices, percussion, and electronics (2017/18).
• rinn, a chamber opera for actors, singers, a large group of musicians, and electronic sounds (2014–16).

Chamber Music

Chamber music is written for a small group of instruments.

• teeth of light, tongue of waves for a soprano singer and bassoon with other instruments (2017/18).
• fiáin for violin, viola, cello, electric guitar, and electric bass guitar (2017).
• on magnetic fields for two violins and one loudspeaker (2011–2012).
• Dorchadas for a group of wind, brass, and string instruments (2007).

Solo Instrumental Music

These pieces are written for just one instrument.

• where cobalt waves live for solo piano (2017).
• eyam i (it takes an ocean not to) for B♭ clarinet solo (2009–13).