Composer Biography

One of the leading figures from the younger generation of Irish composers, Benjamin Dwyer's music is performed regularly both nationally and internationally. A Ph.D. Graduate of Queens University of Belfast in composition, in recent years Dwyer has completed a number of important large-scale works including his Concerto for Percussion and Orchestra (Rajas, Sattva, Tamas), Concerto No. 2 for Guitar and Orchestra (which was written for the renowned Brazilian guitarist Fabio Zanon) and his major virtuosic work for guitar - Twelve Études.

He has received commissions from RTÉ (the national television and radio broadcaster), to compose music for the National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland (Concerto for Percussion & Orchestra, Concerto No. 2 for Guitar & Orchestra), Instituto Cervantes (Concerto No. 1 for Guitar and String Orchestra, Al-Andalus), Canadian electric guitarist Tim Brady (Omeros II), German pianist Ortwin Stürmer (Apuntes), the Rejoyce Festival Dublin (Afterjoyce I), RTÉ Lyric fm (Voces Críticas, Al-Andalus), the Office of Public Works - Ireland (Enclave). Commissions for 2007 include those from the Music Network for the Syrius Trio, Spain's foremost new music group, Ensemble Madrid, and Ireland's Concorde ensemble.

Founder and Director of Ireland's leading contemporary music event MUSIC21 (formally Mostly Modern, see www.music21.ie) and the new music ensemble VOX21 (see www.vox21.ie), Dwyer is one of the foremost activists in Ireland for contemporary music. He is a regular contributor to Irish national radio and television and his articles on music criticism have been widely published. He was recently elected a member of Aosdána, the affiliation of creative artists established by the Arts Council to honour those artists whose work has made an outstanding contribution to the arts in Ireland.