Regina Irman facts for kids

Regina Irman is a talented musician, music teacher, and composer from Switzerland. She writes music for many different groups and events in Switzerland. She also teaches music at a special school called Pädagogischen Hochschule Thurgau. Regina Irman creates all kinds of music, including pieces for solo instruments, small groups (chamber music), choirs, and even for plays. In 2007, she received a special award called the Landis & Gyr Stiftung Residency, which allowed her to live and work in London.

Regina Irman's Early Life and Musical Journey

Regina Irman was born in Winterthur, Switzerland, in 1957. She started her music studies at the Winterthur Conservatory in 1976. In 1982, she earned her teacher's diploma, with the guitar as her main instrument.

She also began to study percussion, which involves playing drums and other instruments you hit. In 1995, she received a special concert diploma for percussion, showing how skilled she was. Regina Irman learned from famous musicians like Roland Moser, Peter Streiff, and Robert Rudisuli.

Regina Irman started composing music while she was studying the guitar. After 1983, she began writing music for many different groups and events. These included the City of Zurich, the Pro Helvetia cultural foundation, and the Swiss Youth Music Competition. She has performed her music in Switzerland, Germany, Italy, France, and Ukraine.

Besides composing, she also works as a drummer and teaches instruments. She is a lecturer at the Pädagogischen Hochschule Thurgau. In 2007, she was given the Landis & Gyr Stiftung Residency in London. This is a special opportunity for Swiss artists who have shown great talent and achievement.

Regina Irman's Musical Works

Regina Irman has composed many different types of music. She writes pieces for solo instruments, small groups (called chamber music), choirs, and even music for plays. People have described her works as having a "brittle form of humour," meaning they might have a unique, slightly quirky, or unexpected feel.

Here are some examples of her musical pieces:

• Hill at Ceret (1983) for two violas and a double bass.
• Speculum (1984) for four clarinets, percussion, and special effects.
• From reflective ice (1984) for four clarinets.
• Melody 1 (1985) for a quarter-tone guitar or other instruments.
• Wind Chimes (1986) for piano.
• Numbers (1986) for piano.
• A Funeral March (1987) a trio for percussion and a spoken voice.
• Black Happiness (1988–1989) for a specially prepared piano.
• Passacaglia (1989–1990) for Clarinet in A.
• Chopin in the vertical (1991) for a speaker, piano, timpani (kettledrums), and tapes.
• Requiem to the Death (1991-1993) for 25 women's voices, using text by Akhmatova.
• Masquerade (1993) Eight pieces for a mixed choir.
• Mirror Dance (1993) for two recorders and drums.
• Words (1995) for a Saxophone Ensemble and percussion.
• Table with bird feet (1996) for tape alone.
• Three Dances (1996–1997) for soprano, speaking voice, piano, clarinet, and accordion.
• Sculptures (for Bruce Naumann) (1997) for a quarter-tone-viol quartet.
• Orfeo (1999–2000) for five players (also a version for tape).
• Black happiness 2 (1990–2001) for a percussion quartet.
• Landscapes (2003) Five pieces for a percussion sextet, including "Snow landscape" and "Frost flowers."
• Ten short pieces based on themes by Bach and Biber (2004) for solo violin.
• According to Fields (2006–2007) for eight women's voices with percussion and light sources.
• Lines (2006–2007) for four trombones.