John McLachlan (composer) facts for kids
John McLachlan (born 5 March 1964) is an Irish composer. A composer is someone who writes music. He has written many different kinds of music, from pieces for big orchestras to solo instruments.
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About John McLachlan
John McLachlan was born in Dublin, Ireland. His mother was a writer named Leland Bardwell. He studied music at several places, including the DIT Conservatory of Music and Drama and the Royal Irish Academy of Music. He also went to Trinity College Dublin, where he earned a special degree in music in 1999. His studies focused on how music was put together, especially in new and experimental music after World War II. Today, he lives in Inishowen, County Donegal.
John McLachlan wrote many articles for The Journal of Music in Ireland for ten years. He also led the Association of Irish Composers (AIC) for many years. In 2007, he became a member of Aosdána, which is a special group that honors Irish artists.
His music has been featured by the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra in their "Horizons" series. He has also represented Ireland at big music festivals around the world. These include the ISCM World Music Days in Slovenia (2003), Croatia (2005), and New Zealand (2022). In 2006, he was asked to write a special piece called Grand Action for the AXA Dublin International Piano Competition.
What His Music Sounds Like
John McLachlan wants his music to tell a story and make you feel like something is going to happen. He does this without just copying old styles. One person who reviewed his piano piece Nine said that each small piece makes your imagination soar. They said some parts sound like French Impressionism (a style that creates a mood or feeling), some have a jazzy feel, and some remind them of short piano pieces by Anton Webern (a composer known for very short, intense music). But they also said his music is completely original.
Much of his music is built in sections that change suddenly. These sections often have a similar sound or idea. Inside these sections, the music moves forward with small changes in rhythm and melody. This can make the music sound a bit mysterious at first, but it also builds excitement slowly.
Some of His Compositions
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For Orchestra
Chamber Music (for small groups of instruments)
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Solo Instrumental (for one instrument)
Choral Works (for choirs)
Electro-acoustic Works (music with electronic sounds)
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Recordings of His Music
Here are some recordings of John McLachlan's music:
- Drinking The Stars (2023): A double CD with piano music played by Mary Dullea. You can find it on farpoint recordings: [1]
- First: A CD with six of McLachlan's pieces, featuring various musicians including the RTE National Symphony Orchestra: [2]
- Filament of Memory: Performed by the Dublin Guitar Quartet on their album "Contemporary Irish": [3]
- Nine: Performed by Mary Dullea on the "Gothic" album from Metier Records: [4]
- Four Pieces for Guitar: Performed by John Feeley on the "Islands" album from Overture Music: [5]
- Grand Action: Performed by Maria McGarry on CMC CD 9.
- Here be Dragons: Performed by David Adams on the "Irish Contemporary Organ Music" album.
- Two Lyric Sketches: Performed by Hibernia trio + Ken Rice quartet on AIC CD1.
Articles About Music
John McLachlan has also written articles about music for the Journal of Music. You can read them here: [6]
