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ABOUT

Christian Drew is a composer, performer and teacher based in London. He makes music for concerts, installation, dance and film using acoustic instruments, electronics and recordings. His music ranges from works that draw on baroque, medieval, shoegaze, noise, ambient and folk music, to loose and flexible pieces that use open scoring to invite many possible outcomes.

As a composer he has worked with the London Symphony Orchestra, London Sinfonietta, Plus Minus Ensemble, Apartment House, Psappha Ensemble, EXAUDI Vocal Ensemble, Juice Vocal Ensemble, What Guitar Trio, Kreutzer Quartet, OUT-TAKE Ensemble, lute player Elizabeth Kenny and soprano Juliet Fraser. Recent projects include a new work for the London Symphony Orchestra and a half-hour multimedia piece written for the Shout at Cancer laryngectomy choir in collaboration with filmmaker/sound artist Philip Clemo. 

Christian graduated with a Master of Composition with Distinction from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, where he studied as a Leverhulme Arts Scholar with Laurence Crane and Richard Baker. Here he received the Mary Ryan Composition Award and the Rose Lawrence Horners’ Award, the Guildhall School’s academic prize.

He completed his undergraduate degree at the University of Southampton, studying with Matthew Shlomowitz, Benjamin Oliver and Michael Finnissy. Upon graduation he received the Hazel Muras-Osborn Composition Prize, the Lyttel Prize for academic achievement and the Edward Wood Memorial Prize for the best student graduating in music. He was also Assistant Conductor of the Southampton University Symphony Orchestra. 

As a multi-instrumentalist Christian has performed with a range of bands and experimental projects on fretted instruments, accordion and voice. He currently teaches guitar and music theory privately and in schools across the South East. 

Christian works regularly as an assistant, orchestrator, arranger and copyist for composers, performers, orchestras and publishers of concert, film and commercial music.

His work and studies have been supported by the H R Taylor Charitable Trust, Archbishop Abbot’s Exhibition Foundation, Split Infinitive Trust, Leverhulme Trust, Guildhall School Trust and Help Musicians UK.

Photo: Liam Clack

email: music@christiandrew.com
© Christian Drew 2024