Richard Nye (b.1967)

Richard is a music composer based in the UK.
His first published work, Three Pyrotechnics for Solo Clarinet (1993 - pub. Cascade Music Publishing) is now included as part of the Trinity College Advanced Clarinet repertoire. His instrumental works have been performed by leading instrumentals and his recent composition for solo flute, Glimpses of Urban Nightlife, received an 'honourable mention' at the NFA Newly Published Music Awards 2024.

He received his South Bank debut with 8 'til Late (8 hands on 2 pianos) performed at the South Bank Centre in 2001. The work was later released on CD by Regent Records and his multi-hand piano works have been performed in the United States, Europe and Asia and have been featured at the 2013 EPTA conference in Düsseldorf and the 2016 Summer School for Pianists in the UK. His choral music is regularly performed and since 2018, his church music in particular has been frequently featured as part of the London Festival of Contemporary Church Music.

He has composed music inspired by works of art, most notably Circus! based on the Circus Prints by the late Eric James Mellon, and Annunciation based on the painting of the same name by American artist, John Collier.

Richard also works with synthesisers, samples, historical recordings and visual media. He provided the soundtrack to Icarus, a short animated film by the Polish animator Michał Socha. Richard received his New York debut in 2013 with the micro-opera Bucca, a piece that formed the basis of the 20 minute multimedia piece, Edge of the World, a collaborative project that won a 2016 Gorsedth Kernow award and has in recent years, frequently collaborated with his sister, the writer Kate Aranda Nye. In 2024 his work The Fragmentist (a work for baritone and electronics) was live-streamed by The Composer's Voice project based in New York.

Richard's background as a cathedral chorister has resulted in a lifelong passion for choral music. Richard provided a secular, choral and orchestral work for West Sussex for the Millennium celebrations and in 2006, Colour Poems, an unaccompanied piece for SSAATBB, for the Cheltenham Bach Choir to celebrate their 60th anniversary. His catalogue of church music continues to expand with a number of titles now published.

Since 2021 Richard has worked extensively with electronics, sample libraries and field recordings, writing and producing three exclusive albums for the music production company, Sonictracs. In August of 2022, his electronic composition EXPRSN was broadcast on BBC Radio 3.

EXPRSN
for multiple synthesisers


In September 2024 Richard will take up the role of Composer in Residence for the Wiltshire town of Mere.