Role

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Composer

Birth

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1945

Period

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Contemporary

Genre

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Keyboard

 

 

Orchestral

 

Vic Hoyland was a British composer of contemporary classical music. He was born on January 23, 1945, in Leeds, England. Hoyland grew up in a musical family, with his father being a jazz pianist and his mother a singer. He began playing the piano at a young age and later learned to play the guitar and the trumpet. Hoyland studied music at the University of York, where he was taught by Wilfred Mellers and David Blake. He also studied with Harrison Birtwistle at the Royal Academy of Music in London. Hoyland's early works were influenced by the avant-garde music of the 1960s, particularly the music of Karlheinz Stockhausen and Pierre Boulez. Hoyland's first major work was "Fanfare for the Uncommon Man," which was commissioned by the BBC for the opening of the 1970 Proms season. The piece was well-received and established Hoyland as a promising young composer. In the following years, Hoyland continued to compose works for the BBC, including "The Trumpets of Jericho" and "The Kingdom of God." Hoyland's music is characterized by its complexity and intensity. He often used unconventional techniques and instruments in his compositions, such as prepared piano and electronic sound manipulation. His works were also known for their political and social commentary, with pieces such as "The Kingdom of God" addressing issues of war and peace. In the 1980s, Hoyland began to incorporate more traditional elements into his music, such as tonality and melody. This shift was evident in works such as "The Ghost Dances" and "The World Turned Upside Down." These pieces were still complex and challenging, but they also had a more accessible quality that appealed to a wider audience. Hoyland continued to compose throughout the 1990s and 2000s, with works such as "The Trumpet Shall Sound" and "The Last Island." He also taught composition at the University of Birmingham and was a mentor to many young composers. Hoyland's contributions to contemporary classical music were recognized with numerous awards and honors. He was made a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Music in 1998 and was awarded the British Composer Award for his work "Quintet for Oboe and Strings" in 2003. Sadly, Vic Hoyland passed away on December 24, 2019, at the age of 74. His legacy lives on through his music, which continues to be performed and admired by musicians and audiences around the world.

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