The Narrator and Composer
Born in Belfast, Brian Irvine went to school in Belfast, Bangor, Boston and Surrey. His works include orchestral, chamber, opera, film, solo and ensemble pieces. He has worked closely with, and been commissioned by, many diverse personalities and organisations: from Japanese cult rock guitar virtuoso Keiji Haino to international opera companies, improvisers, DJs and symphony orchestras including Welsh National Opera, the Ulster Orchestra, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Wexford Opera, Opera Theatre Company, BBC Concert Orchestra, Opera Fringe, Joanna MacGregor, Channel Four, BBC television, BBC Radios 3 and 4, RTÉ Concert Orchestra, Irish Chamber Orchestra, David Holmes and lots of rock bands.
In 2006 he won a British Composer Award for his opera The Tailor's Daughter and in 2007 his orchestral work Secret Cinema (performed by the Ulster Orchestra) was short-listed for the BBC Radio 3 Listeners' Award. He has also won the BBC Radio 3 Jazz Award for Best New Work, Bass Ireland Award, MCPS Joyce Dixey award, a PRS Foundation Award and the Major Individual Artist Award from the Arts Council of Northern Ireland.
As the Ulster Orchestra's Associate Composer, Brian Irvine wrote A Pocket Full of Kryptonite for the Orchestra's 40th birthday and composed and conducted A Marvellous Medicine for the Orchestra and 240 singers from four local primary schools. In the same year he completed The Boy Who Kicked Pigs, a large-scale work for the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and massed singing teenagers. He has just finished a new opera for Welsh National Opera entitled The Calling of Maisy Day which is due to be premièred in Cardiff in July 2008 and is currently working on Dumbworld, a new opera/music theatre work commissioned by Wexford Festival Opera and Opera Fringe (Downpatrick)
For the last seven years he has led his own eclectic 14-piece Ensemble and has conducted and performed extensively throughout Europe, Russia and America appearing at many international music and jazz festivals. As well as concert music, Brian Irvine has worked closely with a number of film-makers, and has composed over 15 film scores, including the score for the award-winning Flickerpix animated film Horn Ok Please.
Brian Irvine is a passionate believer in the wider values involved in the creation of new music. As Associate Composer with the Ulster Orchestra he has led a number of creative education projects including the young composers' course, which was run in association with the Ulster Youth Orchestra. He has worked as Artist in residence for many diverse organisations and has led over 500 hands-on composition and improvisation music workshops all over Ireland, Europe, Israel and USA and more recently in Russia.
He was instrumental in establishing the music department at the North Down and Ards College ten years ago and in 2002 he was appointed as the first New Music Fellow for Scotland. He was also the music director for the Prince's Trust Soundlive programme for seven years and was the music director for Share Music in 2007.