Helen Grime facts for kids

Helen Grime, born in 1981, is a talented Scottish composer. She writes contemporary classical music, which is a newer style of classical music. One of her pieces, called Virga, was chosen as one of the top ten new classical works of the 2000s. The Royal Scottish National Orchestra picked it!

Helen's Early Life and Musical Journey

Helen Grime grew up in a family of musicians. Her grandparents were music teachers in Macduff, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Her mother also taught music.

Even though Helen was born in York, England, her parents moved back to Scotland when she was a baby. She spent her early years in Ellon, Aberdeenshire.

Helen started learning the oboe at a young age. Her sister, Frances, played the violin. Helen began her music studies at age 9 at the City of Edinburgh Music School. Later, at 17, she continued at St Mary's Music School. She played the oboe in the National Youth Orchestra of Scotland. Helen started writing her own music, called composing, when she was just 12 years old!

She continued her studies at the Royal College of Music (RCM). There, she studied composing with famous teachers like Julian Anderson. She also played the oboe in the RCM's orchestras. Helen earned top honors and a master's degree from the RCM in 2004. She was also a special fellow at the Royal College of Music and at the Tanglewood Music Center in the USA.

Helen's Music Career

In 2010, Helen Grime became a teacher of composition at Royal Holloway, University of London. This meant she taught others how to compose music.

Helen has written many amazing pieces of music. One of them is an oboe concerto, which is a special piece for an oboe and an orchestra. She even played the oboe herself when it was first performed! She won an award for this piece.

Other important works include Virga (2007), which was played by the London Symphony Orchestra. It was even performed at The Proms, a very famous music festival, in 2009. Another piece, A Cold Spring (2009), was played by the Birmingham Contemporary Music Group.

In 2010, the BBC asked her to write a piece called Everyone Sang. This was for the 75th birthday of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra. She also signed with Chester Music, a company that publishes her music. In 2011, she became the associate composer for The Hallé Orchestra for three years. This was a big honor!

In 2020, Helen Grime was given a special award called Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE). This award is for people who have done great things for their country, and hers was for her services to music.

Selected Compositions

Here are some of the musical pieces Helen Grime has composed:

Stage Music

• Doorstepping Susanna, a short opera for singers and instruments (2002)

Orchestral Music

These are pieces written for a large orchestra.

• Virga (2007)
• Everyone Sang (2010)
• Night Songs (2012)
• Near Midnight (2012)
• Two Eardley Pictures (1. "Catterline in Winter," 2. "Snow") (2016)
• Woven Space (2017)
• Meditations on Joy (2019)

Concertos

These are pieces for a solo instrument and an orchestra.

• Oboe Concerto (2003)
• Clarinet Concerto (2009)
• Violin Concerto (2016)
• Piano Concerto (2017)
• Percussion Concerto (2019)
• Trumpet Concerto, night-sky-blue (2022)

Chamber and Ensemble Music

These are pieces for a small group of instruments.

• 5 Miniatures (1996)
• Quintet for flute, clarinet, violin, cello and piano (2002)
• Romance for violin and piano (2003)
• Blurred Edges for flute, clarinet, violin, cello, harp and piano (2004)
• Chasing Butterflies for 100 violas (2004)
• Song for Seven Instruments (2004)
• Quartet (2004)
• Elegiac Inflections for wind instruments (2005)
• 5 Movements for cello and piano (2005)
• YKSITOISTA for chamber ensemble (2005)
• Into the Faded Air for 2 violins, 2 violas and 2 cellos (2007)
• The Brook Sings Loud for violin, cello and piano (2008)
• Piano Trio (2008)
• A Cold Spring for chamber ensemble (2009)
• To See the Summer Sky for violin and viola (2009)
• Fantasie, Danse, Cérémonie for flute and harp (2010)
• 7 Pierrot Miniatures for flute, clarinet, violin, cello and piano (2010)
• Luna for flute, oboe, clarinet, horn, percussion and piano (2011)
• Oboe Quartet (2012)
• String Quartet No 1 (2014)
• String Quartet No 2 (2021)

Piano Music

These are pieces written for the piano.

• The Flash of Fireflies in Folds of Darkness (2004)
• Harp of the North (2004)
• Entwined Channels for 2 pianos (2006)
• 10 Miniatures (2009)

Vocal Music

These are pieces written for a singer.

• A Vision for soprano, clarinet, violin and cello (2000)
• A Last Look for soprano and piano (2002)
• In the Mist for tenor and piano (2008)
• Nobody Comes for voice and piano (2008)

Choral Music

These are pieces written for a choir.

• Lachrymae for a choir singing without instruments (2005)
• Missa Brevis for choir and organ (2023)

See also

In Spanish: Helen Grime para niños