Rhian Samuel facts for kids
Rhian Samuel was born in Aberdare, Wales, in 1944. She is a talented Welsh composer. For many years, she lived in the USA. Rhian Samuel has created more than 140 published musical pieces. These include music for orchestras, small groups of instruments (chamber music), singers (vocal music), and choirs (choral music). Today, she spends her time living between mid-Wales and London. She currently lives in the lovely coastal town of Aberdyfi.
Rhian Samuel's Music
Rhian Samuel has written many different kinds of music. Her orchestral music includes pieces like Elegy-Symphony, which was performed in 1981. Another important work is Tirluniau/Landscapes, which the BBC asked her to write for the BBC NOW orchestra in 2000. In 1983, she won a special award called the ASCAP/Rudolf Nissim Prize in the USA. She won it for her large work for choir and orchestra called La Belle Dame sans Merci.
A CD featuring her music, including Clytemnestra (a piece for a female singer and orchestra), was nominated for a Gramophone Award in 2020. This shows how well-regarded her music is.
Writing About Music
Besides composing, Rhian Samuel has also written about music. She helped edit a big book called the New Grove (Norton) Dictionary of Women Composers. In this role, she helped highlight the importance of music written by women. She also wrote about the operas of Harrison Birtwistle. The Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, asked her to write essays for their programs about his operas Gawain and The Minotaur. She later published diaries about how these operas were first performed.
Her piece called Path Through the Woods is for a recorder and string instruments. It was first performed in April 2011 at the Temple of Peace, Cardiff. Pamela Thorby played the recorder, and the Welsh Sinfonia orchestra performed it.
Rhian Samuel's Education and Teaching
Rhian Samuel studied music at Reading University in the UK. She also earned her master's and doctorate degrees from Washington University in St. Louis in the USA.
In 1995, she joined the teaching staff at City University in London. She became a Professor of Music there in 1999. Now, she is an Emeritus Professor, which means she is retired but still honored by the university. While at City University, she also guided advanced students at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama with their research.
Later, from 2007 to 2016, she taught composition at Magdalen College, Oxford. Before that, she taught at the University of Reading from 1984 to 1995. She was even the Head of the Music Department there from 1993 to 1995. She also taught at the St. Louis Conservatory in St. Louis.
