Owen Bourne's Biography
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Owen Bourne
Creative Director Chair of Composition

Owen Bourne is one of the most prolific and distinctive voices in new British music. He was born in Manchester in 1980. He studied at the prestigious Chethams School of Music and was hand picked to be the first ever Resident Student Composer with the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain aged only 16.

He has written over 80 works including 8 major concertos for leading instrumentalists, a large Concerto for Orchestra and his First Symphony. His music has been performed at major festivals such as the Bath International Festival, the Cheltenham Music Festival, the International Grassington Festival and the Spitalfields Festival. He has received commissions from groups such as the BBC Singers, the Southbank Sinfonia, and the London Sinfonietta in the 2002 'State of the Nation' at the Royal Festival Hall.

Cross-genre collaborations include "Empire Chambers" for the Hackney Empire and Manchester club outfit 'Norvun Devolution' and an installation commission for the National Gallery.  2006 included collaborations with the World Street-Dance Champions 'Flawless' in Trafalgar Square and an "Organ Concerto" for the 14th Century Bridlington Priory. Owen passionately champions artist Sam Jefferys, who designed backdrops for his 'Pub Opera' "The Salisbury Songs" which drew wide and triumphant acclaim and was repeated at the Hackney Empire with Owen singing the lead role. In 2003 he became Composer in Residence with the Fulham Symphony Orchestra through a PRS grant.

He went on to make a huge impact on the 'Joint Course' between the Royal Northern College of Music and Manchester University, and through postgraduate studies at the Royal Academy of Music in London under Paul Patterson. He completed his Masters degree having been awarded the 'Mortimer Development Award' by John Suchet and the 'Friends of the Royal Academy of Music'.

Aged 19 the society for the promotion of new music (spnm) short-listed his music for the 'Discover Denmark Festival' with the BCMG at the BBC Pebble Mill Studios. Steve Martland then commissioned a Marimba Concerto for the Goldberg Ensemble with BBC Young Musician winner Adrian Spillett. A large choral work for children's chorus, soloists and orchestra "East Meets West" was composed for a tour of Jersey where Chris George had previously performed his Piano Concerto "Brine".

"This was a work of real drive and energy..." Rod McLaughlin, Jersey Evening Post, 2004

He has recently completed a "Double Violin Concerto" for Clio and Tom Gould, to be performed by the 'Orchestra of the Swan' in 2008 and several piano sonatas. He is also planning projects in Poland, Sweden and New York. He is a co-founder, Director and Chair in Composition with the dynamic organisation EMFEB (which he co-founded), and is also Composer in Residence with the Seychelles International Festival Symphony Orchestra.

His music has since been performed internationally, received rave reviews, and featured on BBC London. He is represented by One voice One vision: www.1voice1vision.co.uk


Owen lives in London with his partner Nina, and son Marcus.