Lucy Armstrong facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Lucy Armstrong
Born	(1991-09-02) September 2, 1991 (age 33)
Education	University of Bristol, Royal Northern College of Music
Occupation	Composer

Lucy Armstrong (born on September 2, 1991) is a British composer who creates music. She lives in London. In 2018, she became a Composition Fellow at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. She is also working on a three-year project at Glyndebourne, a famous opera house.

Lucy has written many different kinds of music. She composed an opera called Nadja's Song. This opera was first performed in Bergen and later shown at the Tête à Tête Opera Festival in London and in Bogotá.

In 2022, a 25-minute piece she wrote with Rebecca Hurst was performed by the Salford Choral Society and The Piccadilly Symphony Orchestra. In March 2023, the Cambridge Philharmonic asked her to write a new piece, which they performed.

A 20-minute saxophone concerto, a special piece for saxophone and orchestra, was also created by Lucy. It was performed in June 2023 by Gillian Blair on the alto saxophone, with conductor Chloé van Soeterstède and The Arch Sinfonia.

Lucy has composed music for many groups and performers. These include Psappha, London Sinfonietta, Glyndebourne, and Grange Park Opera. Her music has been played in famous places like St Martin-in-the-Fields and The Bridgewater Hall. You might have even heard her music on BBC Radio 3.

In 2021, Lucy was a composer for the Royal Philharmonic Society. For this, she wrote a piece for horn and piano that was performed at Wigmore Hall.

Learning to Compose

Lucy Armstrong studied music at The University of Bristol. After that, she focused on composition at the Royal Northern College of Music from 2013 to 2015. There, she learned from Adam Gorb and Gary Carpenter. She won the Alan Rawsthorne Prize for Composition in 2015. She was also highly praised in the RNCM Gold Medal competition. Later, in 2017 and 2018, she continued her studies at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama with Julian Philips.

What Kind of Music Does Lucy Write?

Lucy Armstrong writes many different types of music. She creates operas, pieces for choirs and orchestras, and music for smaller groups of instruments.

Operas

Operas are plays where the story is told mostly through singing. Lucy has written several:

• Gods of the Game (2022; written with Julian Philips, Aran O'Grady, Abel Esbenshade, and Blasio Kavuma)
• A Risk of Lobsters (2018; a shorter opera)
• Tale of the Tell-Tale Tail (2017; a shorter opera)
• Nadja's Song (2015; a shorter opera)
• The Library (2014; a shorter opera)

Music for Choir and Orchestra

These pieces are for a large group of singers (a choir) and a full orchestra.

• The Alchemical Kitchen (2023; for choir and symphony orchestra)
• The Gardener (2022; for choir and chamber orchestra)

Music for Orchestra

These are pieces written for a large group of instruments.

• Saxophone Concerto (2023; for alto saxophone and a smaller orchestra)

Music for Wind Band

A wind band is a group of instruments like flutes, clarinets, trumpets, and trombones.

• Life is a Daring Adventure or Nothing (2015; for wind band)
• Marine Overture (2012; for wind band)

Chamber Music

Chamber music is written for a small group of instruments, usually one player per part.

• Dynamic Corpse (2022; for flute, bass clarinet, piano, electric guitar, violin, viola, and cello)
• The Executioner's Pond (2019; for clarinet/bass clarinet, piano, percussion, violin, cello, and double bass)
• The Whale's Cabaret (2022; for horn and piano)
• The Other Dust (2016; for alto saxophone, tenor saxophone, and piano)
• The Singing Fish (2016; for alto saxophone and piano)
• Space Adventure (2015; for percussion and loop pedal)
• SAME SAME BUT DIFFERENT (2016; for Saxophone Quartet)
• Attraction (2015; for solo piano)
• DARTH MAHLER (2015; for solo trumpet)
• Melodrama for Saxophone and Piano (2014; for soprano saxophone and piano)

Vocal Music

These pieces are written for singers, sometimes with an instrument like a piano.

• Masculine/Feminine (2015; for baritone voice and piano)
• Cheese! (2015; for eight singers)
• Interior (2014; for mezzo-soprano voice and piano)