David Graham (b. 1951) - Full biography
David Paul Graham was born in 1951 in Stratford-upon-Avon, England, studied at Reading University (GB) and in Hans Werner Henze’s master-class at the Academy of Cologne.
Following this he was called to Montepulciano (Italy) to work as Animatore Culturale, teaching at the music school and organising the local music-theatre contribution to the annual festival. Here he became aware of the lacunae in music-education caused by emphasis on interpretation and initiated a childrens’ composition-course which produced Tre Opere per Burattini (Three Puppet-Operas) written and performed by young people. This project has become a model throughout Europe. He was later appointed to the Music-School of Düsseldorf (Germany), specifically to work in the field of Music-Theatre with young people. For further information on this please visit: www.duesseldorf.de/musikschule/unterr/kompeng.shtml
His works range from solo pieces to stage works, and have been performed and broadcast throughout Europe and Latin-America. He is particularly interested in under-represented instruments like the Accordion (for which he wrote solo pieces, several chamber works and a concerto, Shards) the Guitar (solo and chamber pieces) and the Campanula (a Cello with inner and outer resonance strings). He composed several Song-cycles (Texts by Hans-Ulrich Treichel, Richard Nöbel, Rose Ausländer, Brecht) with accompaniment for, amongst others, Accordion and Guitar. A large number of chamber-pieces have resulted from his close connection to the Henze-Kammerensemble. Larger orchestral works have been premiered at the Almeida Festival, London; Münchener Biennale; Columbus Festival, Udine; Steirische Herbst, Austria and in many cities of North-Rhein Westfalia. Graham has composed music for various radio-plays, film music for Volker Schlöndorff and Bill Douglas, and works on Music/Video collaborations with Harald Klemm (Dolly, a 20-minute artistic commentary on genetic engineering, 2000; presently working on La Fuga, on flight/escapism).
His didactic work in Düsseldorf and in projects in Europe and Cuba bring young people and amateurs into the world of composition and music-theatre production. In 1996 Lighting the Candle (a Picasso project) brought together the Tate Gallery, the Orchestra of St. John’s Smith Square and the National Youth Music Theatre in the performance of a stage piece with libretto and music by pupils from a London school. Graham hopes that such projects will help create an active and critical audience for new music. His work at the Clara-Schumann-Music-School in Düsseldorf (where his pupils have written and produced 5 operas, film-music and over 300 instrumental pieces) was in 1993 the subject of a film by German television.
His musical output, didactic work and organisational efforts are marked by the wish to communicate and to cross borders, whether geographically or artistically. He is a member of the organising committee of the festival "Luis Casas Romero" in Camagüey, Cuba, (where several of his works have been performed) and is involved in artistic collaboration between Cuba and Europe.
He is married with two children and lives in Bonn.