Ed Bennett

(b. 1975)

Musical accidents, stark contrasts and the freshness of improvisation interest me. Striving for perfection leads me to boredom. I like to be surprised by music, staying on the outside of things and occasionally dipping in and taking what I need to try to create something new.

Co. Down-born Ed Bennett’s body of work includes large-scale orchestral works, ensemble pieces, solo works, electronic music, opera, installations and works for dance and film. He has lived and worked in recent years in Paris, Berlin and London.

He has been commissioned and performed internationally by many diverse artists, ensembles and organisations, including the BBC, RTÉ, PRSF, Music Network, Moving On Music, 2012 Olympics, Integra and the Arts Councils of England, Ireland and Northern Ireland. Noted collaborators and performers of his work include the BBC Symphony and Philharmonic Orchestras, the National Orchestra of Belgium, RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra, Ulster Orchestra, the London Sinfonietta, Crash Ensemble, Orkest de ereprijs, Fidelio Trio, Berlin Percussion Ensemble, Ensemble SurPlus, Lontano, Concorde, the Smith Quartet, Noszferatu, Ensemble Ars Nova, Garth Knox, Pedro Carneiro, Reinbert de Leeuw, James MacMillan, Darragh Morgan, Mary Dullea, Rolf Hind and Paul Dunmall.

He also performs with and directs his own ensemble, Decibel, which is dedicated to the performance of new and experimental cross-discipline work and with whom he recently released two critically acclaimed CDs of his music, Dzama Stories (Quartz Music) and My Broken Machines (NMC). He has also enjoyed collaborations with several visual artists and choreographers including those with Juneau Projects and the award-winning Belgian choreographer Ann Van den Broek. His work has been featured in festivals such as Gaudeamus (Amsterdam), Musica Viva (Portugal), Huddersfield, Spitalfields, Bath, City of London, Homecoming (Moscow), Crash, Sonorities, Sonic Circuits (USA), Bourges, the BMIC Cutting Edge Series, Soundings (London/Vienna), News from the UK (South Bank), Integra and at New Music/New Ireland in Carnegie Hall, New York. In 2008 he was the first composer in residence at the Irish Cultural Centre in Paris, France.

Recent projects include an opera in collaboration with the writer Stacey Gregg commissioned by Northern Ireland Opera for the 2012 Cultural Olympiad, ‘Organ Grinder’ for mechanical organ and ensemble for the Dutch ensemble Orkest de Ereprijs, an hour long work for dance in collaboration with the Belgian choreographer Caroline D’Haese, a serious of new works for Decibel, a collaborative project with the Irish ensemble Yurodny and the the Turkish Herzafen ensemble and a new large-scale work for orchestra and percussion for the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra. His scores are also published by Composers Edition (www.composersedition.com).