Kerry Andrew facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Kerry Andrew
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| Background information | |
| Born | 5 April 1978 High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England |
| Occupation(s) | Composer, performer and author |
Kerry Andrew (born 5 April 1978) is a talented English composer, performer, and author. They have won four British Composer Awards for their amazing music. Kerry has also written three novels and has been recognized twice for the BBC National Short Story Award.
When performing alt-folk music, Kerry uses the name You Are Wolf. They have also been a long-time member of the Juice Vocal Ensemble, a group known for its unique vocal performances.
Contents
About Kerry Andrew's Life
Kerry Andrew lived in Canada with their family from age 3 to 6. After that, their family moved back to the UK. They settled in the Buckinghamshire area.
Kerry studied music at the University of York. They earned a Bachelor of Arts (BA), a Master of Arts (MA), and a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Composition.
Kerry Andrew's Career
Music Achievements
Kerry Andrew was a Composer in Residence at the Handel House Museum from 2010 to 2012. They also taught music as a Visiting Professor at Leeds College of Music in 2015-16 and 2017-18.
They won their first British Composer Award in 2010 for their choral work Fall. In 2014, they won two more awards. One was for their opera Dart's Love, and another for their community opera Woodwose. This opera was written for Wigmore Hall, and Kerry also wrote the story for it.
Their fourth award came in 2016 for who we are. This piece was for the National Youth Choirs of Great Britain. It was first performed at the Royal Albert Hall.
Big Music Projects
Kerry's piece No Place Like was part of the BBC Ten Pieces project. It was performed at the BBC Proms in both 2017 and 2018. They have written large pieces for young and non-professional groups. This includes 400 primary school children at the Royal Festival Hall.
They also wrote music for 500 singers at the Royal Albert Hall. In 2011, Kerry created a vocal EP called A Lock Is A Gate for Art on the Underground. In 2015, they wrote a piece for the London Sinfonietta to support the National Health Service. This piece included voices of 60 people, including actor Michael Sheen.
In 2019, Kerry wrote the music for the National Theatre's play Rutherford and Son.
International Work
In 2016, Kerry Andrew was a British Council/PRS for Music Foundation Musician in Residence in China. They spent five weeks in the Henan Province. There, they created new songs inspired by rock music and traditional Chinese folklore about foxes.
Published and Recorded Works
Kerry's choral music is published by Faber Music and Oxford University Press. Their vocal trio piece The Song of Doves was performed at the national memorial service for the 7 July 2005 London bombings. It was broadcast live on the BBC.
Their composition Dusk Songs was recorded by The Ebor Singers in 2007. Other works have been released on Naxos and Nonclassical labels. Choirs like the National Youth Choirs of Great Britain and The Hilliard Ensemble have performed their music.
Performing Groups
Kerry performs with the vocal trio Juice Vocal Ensemble. They have released two albums on the Nonclassical label. They also made an album with David Thomas Broughton. Juice Vocal Ensemble has worked with artists like Anna Meredith and Gavin Bryars.
Kerry also performs alt-folk music as You Are Wolf. Their first album, Hawk to the Hunting Gone (2014), explored British birds and folklore. Their second album, Keld (2018), was named Editor's Choice! Album of the Year by fRoots magazine. The Guardian also chose it as a Top Ten Folk Album in 2018.
In 2023, their third album, hare // hunter // moth // ghost, was the Guardian's Folk Album of the Month. In 2024, they worked with Hayden Thorpe and Robert Macfarlane on their album Ness.
Kerry was a multi-instrumentalist with the band DOLLYman from 2007 to 2018. From 2007 to 2017, they sang with Laura Cole's jazz group, Metamorphic.
Kerry sometimes presents on BBC Radio 3's The New Music Show. They have also been a guest on BBC Radio 3 and 4. In 2018, they were the Chair of the Judges for BBC Young Musician.
Writing Career
Kerry Andrew has written stories for their own music-theatre works. They have also written articles for The Guardian.
Kerry's first novel, Swansong, was published in 2018. Their second novel, Skin, came out in 2021. It was chosen as one of Attitude Magazine's 'Game-changing novels of the last 30 Years' in 2024. Their third novel, We Are Together Because, was published in 2024.
They first shared a short story on BBC Radio 4 in 2014. In 2018, their story "To Belong To" was shortlisted for the BBC National Short Story Award. It was read on BBC Radio 4 by Tobias Menzies. They were shortlisted again in 2022 for their story "And the moon descends on the temple that was". In 2024, they won the Edinburgh Short Story Prize for their story, "The Coffin Path".
Discography
Juice Vocal Ensemble
- Songspin (2010), Nonclassical
- Laid Bare: Love Songs (2014), Nonclassical
- Sliding the Same Way with David Thomas Broughton (2014), Song by Toad
- Snow Queens (2018), Resonus Classics
You Are Wolf
- hunting little songs, EP (2010), Mulberry House
- Hawk to the Hunting Gone (2014), Stone Tape
- Keld (2018), Firecrest
- hare // hunter // moth // ghost (2024), Firecrest
Choral Works
- Dusksongs, The Ebor Singers (2007), Boreas Music
- York Mass, The Ebor Singers (2009), Boreas Music
DOLLYman
- DOLLYman (2010), self-release
- Have Yourself a DOLLY DOLLY Christmas (2013), self-release
- Ponderous Skiffle Rubbish (2015), self-release
Metamorphic
- The Rock Between (2011), F-ire
- Coalescence (2013), F-ire
