Short Biography
David Bruce has forged a unique path in contemporary classical music, with a series of colourful, imaginative and life-filled works, encompassing chamber works, orchestral music and opera. He has formed deep and lasting relationships with some of the world's leading soloists - Daniel Hope, Nicholas Daniel and Avi Avital to name a few - and his music has been heard on many of the world's most renowned stages, from the Royal Opera House London, to Carnegie Hall; from the Tonhalle in Zurich to the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam.Career highlights include the 2018 BBC Proms commission Sidechaining; the Glyndebourne/ROH-commissioned opera Nothing; the ROH-commissioned The Firework-Maker's Daughter; and more recently his violin concerto for Daniel Hope Lully Loops.
Many of his chamber works, including Steampunk, Gumboots, The Eye of Night and Cymbeline have achieved that rare thing in new classical music - repeat performances numbering in the 10s or even 100s, with Gumboots in particular being close to repertoire status.
Long Biography
David Bruce has forged a unique path in contemporary classical music, with a series of colourful, imaginative and life-filled works, encompassing chamber works, orchestral music and opera. He has formed deep and lasting relationships with some of the world's leading soloists - Daniel Hope, Nicholas Daniel and Avi Avital to name a few - and his music has been heard on many of the world's most renowned stages, from the Royal Opera House London, to Carnegie Hall; from the Tonhalle in Zurich to the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam.
His early career followed two paths, one operatic, one in chamber music. A series of short operas for Tete a Tete in London culminated in the Genesis Foundation commission Push! (2006) which was Critic's Choice in both The Telegraph and Classical Music Magazine and received universal critical acclaim.
Since the premiere of Piosenki (2006) in Carnegie Hall, Bruce's work in chamber music flourished. Carnegie Hall itself has been a huge supporter of Bruce's music, going on to commission Gumboots (2008), Steampunk (2011) and That Time with You for mezzo-soprano Kelley O'Connor which premiered at the hall in October 2013. In 2009, Dawn Upshaw premiered the song-cycle The North Wind was a Woman commissioned for the gala opening of the Chamber Music Society of the Lincoln Center's 2009 season and she also instigated the commission for his one-act opera A Bird in Your Ear (2008) for Bard College, NY.
Since then, Bruce has ventured more into orchestral writing. For 2013-14 Bruce was Associate Composer with the San Diego Symphony Orchestra, for whom he wrote three pieces : Night Parade for the orchestra's Carnegie Hall debut in October 2013 (which happened on the same night as the premiere of That Time with You in Carnegie's 2nd hall); the Violin Concerto Fragile Light for Gil Shaham; and Cymbeline featuring mandolinist Avi Avital. This was followed by Sidechaining for the 2018 BBC Proms, The Peacock Pavane for Milos and the London Philharmonic Orchestra, and Lully Loops for Daniel Hope and the Zurich Chamber Orchestra. Recent chamber works include The Consolation of Rain for Camerata Pacifica (for whom he is writing a new wind quintet in 2026) and The Lick Quartet for the Dover Quartet.
Bruce's chamber opera The Firework Maker's Daughter (lib. Glyn Maxwell) toured the UK and New York in Spring 2013 and returned to the ROH Lindbury Studios only two years later, for a 27-performance run in December 2015. The piece was shortlisted for both the British Composer Awards, and the 2014 Olivier Awards for Best New Opera Production. This was followed by Bruce's largest operatic work to date - Nothing - based on the award-winning novel by Janne Teller, and co-commissioned by Glyndebourne and the Royal Opera House premiered at Glyndebourne in Feb 2016. It brought the most intense response yet, with the Independent calling it "a pretty well flawless piece" and The Stage saying " It's as moving, authentic and thought-provoking an opera you're likely to see for some time." Nothing returned in a new production to Copenhagen and then Oslo in 2020 and 2023.
Bruce's work has long been influenced and inspired by the wild dances and heart-felt laments of gypsy music, flamenco, klezmer and other folk traditions, as well as having a direct connection to composers like Stravinsky, Janacek, Berio and Bartok who shared similar passions. He has worked closely with a number of groups that share similar passions, both as a composer (Cut the Rug for Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble) and arranger (for Avi Avital's Between Worlds Ensemble)
Bruce's music has attracted numerous awards and prizes, including the Lili Boulanger Memorial Prize (2008) and the Royal Philharmonic Society Composition Competition (1994). He studied at Nottingham University, the Royal College of Music, London, (with Tim Salter and George Benjamin); and completed a PhD in Composition at King's College, London (1995-9), under the supervision of Sir Harrison Birtwistle.
Complementing his work as a composer, Bruce runs the sheet music website 8notes.com and has a popular YouTube channel where he discusses composing and music to an audience of over 300,000 subscribers.
August 2024
