Kenneth Dempster

Born and educated in Edinburgh, Kenneth Dempster began his advanced musical training at Edinburgh Napier University (1980 – 1982: L.G.S.M. & A.L.C.M. Diplomas in Piano), before going on to study at the Royal Academy of Music in London (1982 – 1986: G.R.S.M. (Hons.) & Advanced Certificate in Composition). At the RAM he was awarded eight prizes for his compositions as well as the Inter-Collegiate, Theodore Holland Award (1986).

Background

Born and educated in Edinburgh, Kenneth Dempster began his advanced musical training at Edinburgh Napier University (1980 – 1982: L.G.S.M. & A.L.C.M. Diplomas in Piano), before going on to study at the Royal Academy of Music in London (1982 – 1986: G.R.S.M. (Hons.) & Advanced Certificate in Composition). At the RAM he was awarded eight prizes for his compositions as well as the Inter-Collegiate, Theodore Holland Award (1986).

Kenneth was awarded a variety of scholarships, which enabled him to travel to the United States to study at Yale University (1986 – 1988: M.M. in Composition). During his time at Yale, he studied with many eminent composers: Jacob Druckman, Martin Bresnick, Louis Andriessen, Earle Brown and Frederic Rzewski. He was also awarded two Yale University prizes for his music. On returning to Britain (1988), he studied further with Sir Peter Maxwell Davies and James MacMillan on the Scottish Chamber Orchestra’s Course for Young Composers (1991).

Research/ Practice/ Consultancy

Since completing his studies, he has received commissions for new pieces of music from a wide variety of ensembles and organisations: Emperor Quartet, Hilliard Ensemble, Hebrides Ensemble, English National Opera, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Edinburgh Quartet, Scottish Flute Trio, ECAT, Mr. McFall’s Chamber, Scottish Chamber Choir and the St. Magnus Festival, as well as from soloists, Ursula Smith, Peter Evans, Owen Murray and Simon Thacker. In October 2002 his orchestral work, Seven Fans for Alma Mahler, commissioned by the Scottish Chamber Orchestra (conductor Thierry Fischer), was widely acclaimed by reviewers and audiences alike. In June 2004 he conducted the first performances of a large-scale community opera on the subject of Henrik Ibsen’s Peer Gynt, commissioned by the St. Magnus Festival to mark the 70th birthday of Sir Peter Maxwell Davies.

Recent commissions have been for groups as diverse as Mr. McFall’s Chamber and the Edinburgh Quartet, and for the 2006 St. Magnus Festival, he was commissioned to compose a new music-theatre piece, A Hamnavoe Man to mark the tenth anniversary of the death of the Orcadian writer, George Mackay Brown. A new solo guitar work, Sanctum was commissioned by ECAT for the guitarist, Simon Thacker, who toured the work extensively in 2007. Father and Son (SATB choir and organ) was composed in 2008 to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Scottish Chamber Choir; performed by them with Michael Harris (Musical Director) and Peter Backhouse (Organ).

Kenneth is actively involved as a composer, conductor and music educator and was invited by partners consisting of the University of Plymouth and a body of composers from IRCAM (Paris) and PRISM to take part in an international algorithmic composition symposium (2010). This consisted of the delivery and performance of a new horn trio, aber and participation in symposium proceedings and discussions.

In 2009 he devised and directed for Edinburgh Napier University a day-long symposium of concerts, lectures and discussions to celebrate the 50th and 75th birthdays of James MacMillan and Sir Peter Maxwell Davies respectively. This event took place in the presence of the two composers and reflected Kenneth’s commitment to the pursuit of musical excellence at Edinburgh Napier University.

Outreach work

Kenneth leads many schools workshops and has undertaken three major education projects with the Edinburgh Quartet in recent years. The most recent of these projects, The Cold Dancer (2006 – 2008) involved visiting 35 primary schools across all areas of Scotland. More recently he has been working alongside the Scottish Flute Trio in schools in Fife region as part of the soundstreams project. This project included the commission of a new sextet, source for three flutes, clarinet, marimba and cello performed in June 2010.

Awards

– Cornelius Cardew Composition Prize for saxophone quartet, Clan Ranald’s Daughter
– Creative Scotland Award towards collaboration with the poet, Ron Butlin and the composition of a children’s opera, Faraway Pictures
CD Recordings/Broadcasts

Broadcasts on BBC Radio 3 and BBC Radio Scotland:
– First String Quartet, Under the Hammer recorded onto CD (1995) by the Saltire Quartet (Mirabilis Records-MRCD 961)
– String Quartet No. 4 (The Cold Dancer) recorded onto CD (2006) by the Edinburgh Quartet (Delphian Records-DCD34038)
– Father and Son recorded onto CD (2009) by the Scottish Chamber Choir (Director: Michael Harris) and Peter Backhouse (Organ) (CP Productions)
Responsibilities at the Ian Tomlin Academy of Music

– MPhil/PhD Director of Studies
– Composition
– Orchestration
– Director of the Contemporary Music Ensemble
– Conductor of the Edinburgh Napier Chamber Orchestra
– Concert management
– Coaching of student ensembles