Judith Weir facts for kids

Dame Judith Weir (born 11 May 1954) is a famous British composer, which means she writes music. For ten years, from 2014 to 2024, she held the special title of Master of the King's Music. This is an important job where a composer works for the British royal family. When Queen Elizabeth II appointed her, she became the first woman ever to have this role.

Early Life and Education

Judith Weir was born in Cambridge, England, to Scottish parents. Her home was filled with music. Her father played the trumpet, and her mother played the viola. When she was a teenager, her family moved to Harrow, and she started playing the oboe, a woodwind instrument.

She was very talented from a young age. While still in school, she studied with the well-known composer John Tavener. Later, she went to King's College, Cambridge, where she studied with another composer, Robin Holloway, and graduated in 1976.

Career as a Composer

First Successes

Weir's music was performed by professional musicians even before she finished college. She also spent time at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the United States, learning about computer music.

From 1976 to 1979, she worked as a Composer-in-Residence in southern England. This job involved teaching music to both children and adults. She later taught at Glasgow University and Trinity College, Cambridge. She was also the Composer in Association for the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra from 1995 to 1998.

Musical Style and Operas

Weir's music is often inspired by old stories from medieval history and the traditional music of Scotland, where her parents were from. She is famous for her orchestral music, but she is best known for writing operas. An opera is a play where the characters sing most of their lines.

Her musical style is known for making simple ideas sound new and interesting. Some of her most famous operas include:

• The Black Spider: Her first one-act opera, based on a short novel.
• A Night at the Chinese Opera: A full-length opera that premiered in 1987.
• The Vanishing Bridegroom: An opera from 1990.
• Blond Eckbert: An opera commissioned by the English National Opera in 1994.
• Armida: An opera created especially for television, shown on Channel Four in 2005.

Music for Royal Events

As Master of the Queen's Music, and later the King's Music, Weir composed music for very important national events.

In 2015, her arrangement of the national anthem, "God Save the Queen", was played at the reburial of King Richard III.

For the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022, she was asked to write a special piece of music. She wrote a beautiful choral piece called "Like as the hart", which was based on Psalm 42 from the Bible.

In 2023, she was one of twelve composers chosen to write music for the coronation of King Charles III. Her orchestral piece, Brighter Visions Shine Afar, was performed before the ceremony began.

Awards and Recognition

Judith Weir has received many awards for her contributions to music.

• In 1995, she was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE), a high honor in the United Kingdom.
• In 2007, she received the Queen's Medal for Music.
• In 2015, she won The Ivors Classical Music Award.
• In 2024, she was promoted to Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE). This is a very high honor that gives her the title "Dame."

List of Compositions

Here is a short list of some of Judith Weir's many musical works.

Opera and Music for the Stage

• King Harald's Saga (1979)
• The Black Spider (1985)
• A Night at the Chinese Opera (1987)
• The Vanishing Bridegroom (1990)
• Blond Eckbert (1994)
• Armida (2005, for television)
• Miss Fortune (2011)

Orchestral and Choral Music

• String Quartet (1990)
• Forest (1995, for orchestra)
• Piano Concerto (1997)
• woman.life.song (2000, for a singer and chamber ensemble)
• The welcome arrival of rain (2001–2002, for orchestra)
• Like as the hart (2022, for choir)
• Brighter Visions Shine Afar (2023, for orchestra)

See also

In Spanish: Judith Weir para niños