Freya Waley-Cohen facts for kids
Freya Waley-Cohen (born on February 20, 1989) is a talented British-American composer who creates amazing music. She lives in London and is known for her unique and imaginative compositions.
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About Freya Waley-Cohen
Freya grew up in a family that loved art. Her mother, Josie Spencer, is an American sculptor, and her father, Stephen Waley-Cohen, is an English theatre manager. Her sister, Tamsin Waley-Cohen, is a violinist. Freya started playing the violin when she was just three years old! When she was 11, she joined a special composition course at The Walden School in New Hampshire.
She continued her music studies at Cambridge University with Giles Swayne. Later, she learned from famous composers like Simon Bainbridge and Oliver Knussen at the Royal Academy of Music. In 2016, she was chosen as a Composition Fellow at the Tanglewood Festival, which is a big honor for young composers.
Freya's Music
Freya Waley-Cohen has written many interesting pieces. One of her early works was Dark Hour, a piece for piano, clarinet, and string quartet. It was performed in May 2013.
She often creates music that is meant for a specific place. For example, her choral piece Linea was written to be performed inside the Princess of Wales Conservatory at Kew Gardens. It was like a musical installation! Another piece, Permutations (2017), used six recorded violins and was played inside a special building at the Aldeburgh Festival. The sound was spread all around the building, making it a unique experience.
Freya's song cycle Happiness was a very special piece. It was the last one she worked on with her teacher, Oliver Knussen, before he passed away in 2018. The London Symphony Orchestra performed it for the first time in October 2018. Another piece, Ink, was inspired by poems and recorded by the Philharmonia Orchestra.
In 2019, the Los Angeles Philharmonic asked her to write Changeling, a piece for a small orchestra. It was performed at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, conducted by the famous John Adams.
Freya made her big BBC Proms debut in September 2019 with her octet Naiad. It was performed by the Knussen Chamber Orchestra. Her string trio Conjure was first played at the Wigmore Hall in November 2019.
She also wrote Spell Book for solo singers and a chamber orchestra. This piece uses poems from Rebecca Tamás's book WITCH. The Britten Sinfonia performed the first part in January 2020. The full Spell Book cycle, which has eight songs and lasts about 45 minutes, was first performed in London in February 2024.
In March 2022, Freya's opera called WITCH (also based on Rebecca Tamás's work) premiered at the Royal Academy of Music. Freya was also the composer in residence for the London Chamber Orchestra during the 2021-22 season. During this time, they performed her works like Saffron and Happiness, and a new piece called Pocket Cosmos.
More recently, Freya has written big orchestral works. Demon (2023) was performed by the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra in February 2023. Her 25-minute orchestral work Mother Tongue, commissioned by the London Philharmonic Orchestra, premiered in November 2024.
Freya's Compositions
Stage Works
- WITCH (2022), an opera
Orchestral Works
- Ignite (2013), for orchestra
- Magpie (2016), for small orchestra
- Changeling (2019), for chamber orchestra
- Talisman (2020), for string ensemble
- Pocket Cosmos (2022), for orchestra
- Demon (2023), for orchestra
- Mother Tongue (2024), for orchestra
Chamber and Instrumental Works
- Ascension (2012), for solo cello
- Dark Hour (2013), for clarinet, piano & string quartet
- Five Breaths (2013), for solo piano
- Glass (2015), for percussion quartet
- Nocturne (2015), for solo clarinet
- Unveil (2015), for solo violin
- Permutations (2017), for six recorded violins
- Ink (2018), for large mixed ensemble
- Naiad (2019), for octet
- Conjure (2019), for string trio
- Amulet (2020), for string quintet
- Glass Flowers (2023), for flute trio
Vocal and Choral Works
- Linea - Pleasure Trip (2014), for vocal ensemble
- Happiness (2018), a song cycle for soprano and orchestra
- Lend us your Voice (2019), for choir
- Spell Book (Volume 1) (2020), for mezzo-soprano and chamber orchestra
- Spell Book (Volume 2) (2020), for soprano and string quartet
