Oscar Bettison's evolving rhythmic cycles and industrial sonorities test the tenuous space between pitch and noise, classical and rock, convention and invention. Born in Jersey, UK, Bettison works with a wide range of media—writing for existing instruments, re-imagining their roles, involving electro-acoustic elements, or creating instruments from found materials. Successes include winning the 1993-94 Lloyds Bank/BBC Young Composer of the Year award and the 1997 Royal Philharmonic Society prize, as well as commissions from the New London Orchestra, the Oxford Contemporary Music Festival, The New London Children's Choir, the BBC, the Eliza Miller Dance Company, and the London Sinfonietta.
After studying in London at the Royal College of Music and at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, Oscar Bettison went to the Koninklijk Conservatorium in The Hague. He was awarded a fellowship to attend Tanglewood in summer 2001 and was a fellow at the Aspen Music Festival in the summer of 2007. He recently completed his PhD at Princeton University and will join the composition faculty at the Peabody Conservatory in the fall of 2009.
will you be coming to the city for the performance at the Palyer's Theatre? If so it's right by my dormitory, maybe we could meet for jazz and drinks if you've got any time.
great to hear from you! Our show was a killer, we introduced the blastbeat into the symphonic world. People didn't even run away! Seriously, I wonder where to go from here...
hope Amnerica is treating you well... how's married life my friend?
