We are delighted to announce that Howard Skempton will join us as our invited keynote speaker at this year’s conference. He will address our optional theme from his wealth of compositional and collaborative experience.

Howard Skempton is a professional composer whose works have been published by Oxford University Press since 1994.  His best known work is “Lento” (1990), commissioned by the BBC for the BBC Symphony Orchestra and was performed at 2010 BBC Proms. Much of his music is available on CD.  The Oxford University Press website includes discography, a biography and details of recent compositions.  He is an Honorary Member of the Royal Academy of Music.

‘Only the Sound Remains’ was shortlisted for the 2011 Royal Philharmonic Society Music Awards.  The piece, a large scale composition for viola and chamber ensemble, was written for the Birmingham Contemporary Music Group, and had its premiere in 2010.  Howard has had previous success at the Awards with his string quartet,Tendrils, written for the 2004 Huddersfield Festival. It won the Royal Philharmonic Society award for chamber-scale composition.  Tendrils also won the Chamber Music category in the BBC Radio 3’s British Composer Awards.  ‘The Moon is Flashing’ won the 2008 award in the vocal category.

Howard has continued to compose choral music, including an Advent antiphon for Merton College Oxford and anthems for Chester and Wells Cathedrals.