Richard Barrett

Richard Barrett, born 1959 in Swansea (Great Britain), studied genetics. In 1980 he heard Michael Finnissys work alongside, which in retrospect was a pivotal event convincing him to devote his energies to composition and take up composition studies with Peter Wiegold in London. In 1984 he participated in the Darmstadt International Summer Courses for New Music, to which he returned as a staff member two years later, winning the Kranichsteiner Musikpreis. He taught composition in Darmstadt from 1986 to 1994 and at the Middlesex University in London from 1989 to 1992.

From the beginning, live electronics played an important role in his works, a focus which has recently increased, especially in Opening of the Mouth and in the DARK MATTER cycle premiered in spring of 2003 in Berlin. Richard Barrett’s compositions have been performed worldwide by ensembles such as L’Itinéraire, Ensemble Köln, Ensemble Modern, Arditti String Quartet, Ensemble InterContemporain, BBC Symphony Orchestra and the Klangforum Wien and interpreted by soloists such as Andrew Sparling, Carl Rosman, Ian Pace, Friedrich Gauwerky and Daryl Buckley.

Richard Barrett was an instructor at the Summer Academy in August 2003.