David Flynn (composer) facts for kids

Composer and guitarist Dave Flynn

David Flynn, also known as Dave Flynn, was born on January 6, 1977. He is a talented Irish composer and musician. He is also the person who started and leads the Irish Memory Orchestra. Much of his music blends traditional Irish music with modern classical music and jazz. He plays many instruments, including guitar, which is his main one. He works in different music styles like classical, jazz, rock, and traditional Irish music.

Early Music Journey

Dave Flynn grew up in Dublin, Ireland. He started learning piano and tin whistle when he was young. But he really got into music as a teenager, teaching himself to play rock guitar. In his mid-teens, he became interested in classical guitar. He taught himself to read music and learned classical guitar by listening to recordings. He wrote his first classical guitar piece when he was 16.

After finishing school in 1995, he studied rock music at Ballyfermot College of Further Education in Dublin. Around this time, Flynn began writing songs and performing in Dublin. He played at famous Tuesday night gigs that helped new musicians like Glen Hansard and Damien Dempsey. Later, he became very interested in traditional Irish music. He learned this music from recordings and workshops at Irish music festivals.

Formal Music Studies

In 1998, Flynn began studying classical music at the DIT Conservatory of Music and Drama. He first studied classical guitar part-time with John Feeley. In 1999, he joined the full-time music degree course. He continued guitar studies with Feeley and focused on composing. Flynn became very dedicated to composing. In 2002, he won the IMRO Composition Award at the Feis Ceoil in Dublin for his string orchestra piece Mesh.

While at DIT, he helped start the Dublin Guitar Quartet with other students. He graduated in 2003 and then left the quartet. He moved to London to study for his master's degree in Composition at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. He was the first person from the Republic of Ireland to be accepted into this program. At Guildhall, he studied composition with Malcolm Singer. He also formed his own group, the David Flynn Collective. He earned his master's degree in composition from Guildhall in 2004.

He returned to DIT in 2006 to work on a PhD. His research was about "Traditional Irish Music: A Path to New Music." He finished his PhD in 2010.

Professional Composing Career

Early 2000s Compositions

Flynn's professional composing career began in the early 2000s. His music was performed by groups like Jane O'Leary's Concorde ensemble and the Dublin Guitar Quartet. He also performed many of his own guitar pieces. His music from this time was often influenced by minimalist composers like John Adams and Philip Glass. These works have been published by Mel Bay.

After graduating in 2004, Flynn's string quartet piece Slip was chosen for a workshop at the 2004 Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival. This led to him winning the Young Composers Award at the festival that year. His prize was to expand Slip into his String Quartet No. 2 "The Cranning" for the 2005 festival. The Smith Quartet performed it, and critics praised it. Neil Fisher of The Times said Flynn blended traditional Irish music without making it sound like a Hollywood movie.

Music critic Michael Dervan of The Irish Times wrote that Flynn was trying to bring traditional Irish music into classical string quartet music. He noted that parts of the Smith Quartet's performance of this minimalist piece were perfect.

In 2004, Flynn helped create the Young Composers Collective (YCC) in Ireland. He wrote an article criticizing older music groups for not supporting young composers. This article caused some discussion. But it led to the YCC helping many new young composers get their music performed. The YCC later became the Irish Composers' Collective. Flynn is no longer a member of the ICC.

In 2005, Flynn caused more discussion with his article "Looking for the Irish Bartók." He questioned why established Irish classical composers did not use traditional Irish music. Some older composers criticized his ideas. But traditional Irish musicians, who had often been ignored by classical music groups, liked his article.

This article led Flynn to connect with famous traditional Irish fiddler Martin Hayes and guitarist Dennis Cahill. In 2006, the Masters of Tradition Festival asked Flynn to write a piece for Hayes, Cahill, and classical violinist Ioana Petcu-Colan. The piece, Music for the Departed, was first performed at the festival in August 2006. When it was first played in the US in 2010, it was called "A magnificent new work" by the Irish Examiner (USA).

2010s Compositions

Flynn continued to work with Martin Hayes on other projects. In 2010, Hayes first performed Aontacht. This was a concerto for Irish fiddle and orchestra with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra in Ireland's National Concert Hall. The concert also included a new version of Music for the Departed with a string orchestra added.

Aontacht was reviewed in Journal of Music. The editor, Toner Quinn, wrote that Flynn's writing showed he had studied Hayes's music for years. He also said the composer pushed the fiddle player into new areas.

Irish Times critic Michael Dervan wrote that Flynn’s new Aontacht was not a typical concerto. He said it was a way for a traditional musician to play with an orchestra. The orchestra acted as a backing group. The solo part was written precisely but was meant to be adapted by the fiddler. Hayes kept his focus through Flynn’s unique melodies. The critic felt the performer and work were best matched in the final movement.

Flynn kept working with traditional Irish musicians to create new concert pieces. These included The Forest of Ornaments for flautist Harry Bradley. He also wrote Five Études for Uilleann Pipes for uilleann piper Mick O'Brien. Another piece was The Valley of the Lunatics for fiddle player Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh. These works were first performed at the 2011 Masters of Tradition Festival in Cork. That concert was entirely dedicated to Flynn's music.

In 2014, the Crash Ensemble first performed Flynn's piece "Joy." Flynn and Niwel Tsumbu were the electric guitar soloists. Alan Pierson conducted the premiere at Cork Opera House.

After this, his first opera, "Mná Brian Boru," was first performed. Clare County Council asked him to write it for the 1000th anniversary of Brian Boru's death. This opera asked singers to use the Irish traditional sean nós style, not classical singing. The words were in both English and Irish. It was first performed in St. Flannan's Cathedral, Killaloe, in 2014.

Also in 2014, Flynn released a solo electric guitar album called "Winter Variations." It was released on his label, Frisbee Records.

In 2016, "Calmly Awaiting the End" was first performed. This piece for uilleann pipes and string quartet was written after Flynn won the Éamonn Ceannt Commission Competition. It was first played in Galway's Town Hall Theatre during the Galway Sessions Festival. RTÉ chose this work to represent Ireland at the 2017 International Rostrum of Composers.

In 2019, Flynn became the first Composer-in-Residence at Farmleigh. This is Ireland's state guest house. For this role, Flynn wrote two new pieces. One was "Harp-Lute" for two harps. The other was 'The Farmleigh Tree Alphabet' for choir, set to poems by Theo Dorgan. These works were first performed at the Farmleigh Music and Arts Festival. Flynn created this festival for his residency. Dorgan and other artists like Stephen Rea and Paddy Glackin joined the festival.

Irish Memory Orchestra

In 2012, Flynn started the Clare Memory Orchestra. This was a special orchestra that mixed musicians from classical music, traditional Irish music, jazz, and other styles. In 2016, it was renamed the Irish Memory Orchestra. This orchestra performs Flynn's music and arrangements entirely from memory, without sheet music.

In 2013, Flynn composed an hour-long orchestral work called 'The Clare Concerto'. A 70-piece Clare Memory Orchestra first performed it in the Glór Theatre, Ennis. This project earned Flynn a 2014 Allianz Business to Arts Award nomination.

The Irish Memory Orchestra often features famous Irish musicians as guests. These include accordionist Máirtín O'Connor and Liz Carroll. Liz Carroll was a guest soloist for the orchestra's first concert in Glór Theatre in Ennis on September 21, 2012. The string players in the orchestra are skilled in both Irish fiddle and classical string techniques. The wind section mixes uilleann pipes, wooden flute (also called Irish Flute), tin whistle, and oboe. The 'Harmony/Rhythm Section' includes Irish Harp, Guitar, Double Bass, and Percussion, like the Irish drum, the bodhrán. The horn section has ancient Irish horns, trumpet, trombone, and saxophone. Niamh Varian-Barry, who used to be the lead singer of the Irish-American group Solas, leads the orchestra.

Other members of the orchestra include Anne-Maire O'Farrell, Eimear McGeown, Aisling Agnew, Neil Yates, and Niwel Tsumbu.

In 2017, Flynn finished his first symphony, "The Memory Symphony." This symphony is special because it was written to be played without sheet music. Any musical instrument can be part of the performance. The orchestra and special guest Mairtin O'Connor first performed it in Dublin's Christchurch Cathedral in November 2017.

He then completed two more symphonies in 2019: "The Clare Symphony" and "The Vision Symphony." "The Vision Symphony" was part of a project to help blind and vision-impaired musicians play with orchestras. The first performance in October 2019 included the Irish Memory Orchestra and several blind and vision-impaired musicians. The Journal of Music praised it as "boundary breaking in a new way." The Arts Council of Ireland and Clare County Council funded this project.

The orchestra is based in County Clare on the west coast of Ireland. It has performed at the Jeonju Sori International Festival of Traditional Music in Korea and the Moscow Christmas Festival. They have also played at the National Concert Hall, Dublin, with Martin Hayes, Dennis Cahill, and the RTÉ Concert Orchestra.

Later Works and Publications

Besides his work with traditional musicians, Flynn's music is performed by classical musicians and groups worldwide. These include the Prague Chamber Orchestra, New Juilliard Ensemble, Contempo Quartet, Dublin Guitar Quartet, and guitarist John Feeley.

Violinist Irina Muresanu released the first recording of Flynn's solo violin piece "Tar Éis an Caoineadh" on her 2018 album "Four Strings Around the World." She often performs it in her concerts. The recording and her performances have received praise in the Boston Globe and Limelight.

Flynn has had radio shows dedicated to his music. These include WNYC New York's New Sounds show and RTÉ lyric fm's 'Cross Currents' series on Irish composers.

His main publisher is his own company, Frisbee Publications. However, Four Études for Five Fingers and Complete Guitar Works have been published by Mel Bay. Toccata for Obama is published by Reed Music.

Traditional Music Career

Besides being a composer and classical guitarist, Flynn often performs traditional Irish music. His first recording, 'Draíocht', was released in late 2006. It mixes traditional Irish music with new compositions and songs based on tradition. Most of the songs on the album were co-written with poet Pádraic Ó'Beírn. Flynn co-produced the album with engineers Manus Lunny and Paul Thomas. Critic John O'Regan wrote in Irish Music Magazine that "Draíocht is one of the most surprising debuts to hit my ears in ages."

Flynn's second album, Contemporary Traditional Irish Guitar, came out in 2009 on Frisbee Records. This album has solo guitar versions of music by 20th-century traditional Irish music composers. It includes pieces by Paddy Fahey, Ed Reavy, Liz Carroll, Charlie Lennon, and Tommy Peoples. One of Flynn's own pieces, The Mahatma of the Glen, is also on the album. This piece honors the late fiddle player James Byrne. The album received good reviews in folk and classical music magazines.

As a traditional guitar accompanist, Flynn has played with Irish traditional musicians. These include Martin Hayes, Paddy Glackin, Liz Carroll, Máirtín O'Connor, Charlie Lennon, and Tommy Peoples.

Personal Life

Flynn lives in both Ireland and New Zealand. He spends his time between these countries with his wife, Celia.

Awards

• 2002 – IMRO Composition Award, Feis Ceoil, Dublin
• 2004 – Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival Composers' Award – For the String Quartet Work 'The Cranning'
• 2015 – Allianz Business to Arts Award with the Irish Memory Orchestra and ESB
• 2016 – Eamon Ceannt Memorial Commission Competition Winner
• 2019 – Galway Music Residency Commission Winner

Recordings

Flynn's recordings include:

• Draíocht (2006)
• Contemporary Traditional Irish Guitar (2009)
• Winter Variations – New Music for Electric Guitar (2014)
• D.F.F. – Pouric Songs (2014)
• Shadowplay – New Irish Music for Flute and Guitar (2016)
• Genre Jumping – The Best of Dave Flynn Vol. 1 – Chamber Music (2017)
• Genre Jumping – The Best of Dave Flynn Vol. 2 – Celtic Strings (2017)
• Genre Jumping – The Best of Dave Flynn Vol. 3 – Indie Pop (2017)
• Stories from the Old World – Music for Strings, Pipes and Voices (2018)
• Dun Laoghaire Guitars (2020)

Complete Concert Works

• "Elegy For Joan" for guitar solo (1993)
• "Homage To Villa-Lobos" for guitar solo (1998)
• "Irish Seascape with Waves-Homage to Leo Brouwer" for guitar solo (2000)
• "5to9" for guitar solo (2000)
• "Passacaglia" for guitar solo (2000)
• "Rainstorm" for guitar solo (2000)
• "Chimurenga" for Guitar Quartet (2000)
• "3 Gymno'Paddy's" for guitar solo (2000/2001)
• "Twelve-Tone BACH" for piano solo (2001)
• "Mesh" for String Orchestra (2001)
• "Quirk No.1" Versions available for Violin & Cello or Flute & B♭ Clarinet (2001)
• "Quirk No.2 (Shadowplay)" for Flute and Guitar (2002)
• "Kora" for Guitar Quartet (2002)
• "Horrific Spasm" for Chamber Quintet (2002)
• "I have always known" Song set to poem by Narihiri for voice and piano (2002)
• "7–11" for Piano 4-Hands or Piano Duet (2002/2003)
• "After Cowell" for Solo Piano (2003)
• "Echoes of Bamako" for String Orchestra (2003)
• "Polymetric Cycles" – for Chamber Ensemble (2003)
• String Quartet No.1 "Fairground Attractions" (2003)
• "Quirk No.3" for Alto Flute, Oboe, E♭ Clarinet, Soprano Sax & Guitar (2003)
• "Full Circle" song cycle for voice and piano set to poetry by Joan Jennings (2003/2004)
• "Two Nonsense Songs" for voice and piano (2003–04)
• "Manipulations" for Chamber Sextet (2004)
• "Electric Guichair" electronic music (2004)
• "Between the Jigs and the Reels" for Violin & Piano.(2004)
• "String Quartet No.2 The Cranning" (2004/5)
• "Four Etudes for Five Finger Right Hand Technique" guitar solo (2005)
• "Tar éis an Cran" for Fiddle and keyboard (piano or harpsichord) (2005)
• "Ómós do Frankie Kennedy" for Flute and Guitar (2006)
• "Music for the Departed" for Fiddle, Violin and Guitar (2006)
• "Errigal Suite" for traditional Irish musician and two Guitars (2007)
• "Taibhreamh O Ríada" for traditional Irish music ensemble and seán nós singers (2007)
• "String Quartet No.3 The Keening" (2007)
• "Tar Eís an Caoineadh" for solo violin (2008)
• 'Aontacht' Concerto for Traditional Irish Musician and Orchestra (2008)
• "Scealta an Seansaol/Stories from the Old World" for Uilleann pipes, String Quartet and Narrator/Singer (2008)
• "Toccata for Obama" for violin and guitar (2009)
• "The Mahatma of the Glen" for solo guitar (2009)
• "Five Études for Uilleann Pipes" (2009)
• "The Longest Reel" (2009) for solo fiddle
• "The Forest of Ornaments" (2010) for improvising soloist playing Irish flutes, fifes, shakuhachi, fujara with a pre-recorded sound collage
• "The Valley of the Lunatics" (2010) for detuned 'Bb' fiddle, retuned hardanger fiddle and pre-recorded sound collage
• "Le Chéile is in Aonar" (2010) for traditional Irish music ensemble – 2 fiddles, 2 flutes, 3 tin whistles and uilleann pipes
• "Hyper-Reel" (2010) for solo percussion (Marimba and woodblock)
• "The Man from Maghera Rambles through Africa" (2010) for orchestra
• "Protest Songs" (2011) for SATB choir
• "Quirk No7 – Slides, Cuts, Rolls and Crans" (2011) for flute and clarinet/bass clarinet
• "An Irish Raga" (2011) for solo guitar
• "Sebene" (2011) for guitar quartet
• "The Clare Concerto" (2013) for large memory orchestra
• "Joy" (2013–2014) for amplified ensemble
• "Mná Brian Boru" (2014) 'Sean nós' Opera in 4 Acts
• "Winter Variations" (2014) for solo electric guitar
• "Calmly Awaiting the End" (2016) for uilleann pipes and string quartet
• "Irreligiosity" (2016) for SATB choir
• "Symphony No.1 – The Memory Symphony" (2017) for large memory orchestra
• "Stone Walls" (2018) for voices and chamber orchestra
• "The Mad Magician" (2018) for voices and chamber orchestra
• "Symphony No.2 – The Clare Symphony" (2013/2019) for orchestra
• "Symphony No.3 – The Vision Symphony" (2019) for memory orchestra and blind/vision-impaired musicians
• "The Farmleigh Tree Alphabet" (2019) for SATB Choir
• "Harp-Lute" (2019) for two harps