Six Cabaret Songs

Six Cabaret Songs - Dominic Muldowney

Six Cabaret Songs

“Dominic Muldowney is a brilliant musical talent, who has often collaborated with BCMG Artist-in-Association John Woolrich, including conducting his music for BCMG. He was for many years Director of Music for the National Theatre, working closely for a significant period with Harrison Birtwistle. A multi-faceted composer, he recently produced an extraordinary War Oratorio for Channel 4 television, which charted a day in the life of three people caught up in conflicts in different parts of the world, and which used ‘theatre’ singers, rather than opera singers, as soloists, to great effect. This latter area is of particular interest for Dominic and for his Sound Investment commission he will set poetry by John Betjeman and WH Auden for ‘theatre’ voices, forming part of a specially created ‘cabaret-style’ evening.”

Stephen Newbould, Former BCMG Artistic Director

Dominic Muldowney studied at Southampton University with Jonathan Harvey, at York University with Bernard Rands and David Blake, and privately with Sir Harrison Birtwistle. From 1974 to 1976 he was Composer-in-Residence at the Southern Arts Association. He succeeded Birtwistle as Director of Music at the National Theatre in 1981 and remained in the post for 16 years.

Dominic Muldowney has amassed a formidable list of accomplishments over the past two decades for films, television and theatre – his score for Michael Radford’s film of George Orwell’s 1984 remains one of the most unique film soundtracks ever to have been recorded. Muldowney’s radio opera The Voluptuous Tango (1996) won the Prix Italia in 1997, and the Gold Award for Best Radio Drama at 1997 Sony Drama Awards, receiving its stage premiere as part of the Hoxton New Music Days, London in 2000.

His series of classical concertos for violin, saxophone, percussion, oboe and piano have been performed by some of the UK’s major orchestras, yet he is equally at home writing, arranging and conducting for artists such as David Bowie and Sting.

Six Cabaret Songs by Dominic Muldowney was premiered by BCMG conducted by the composer on 21 May 2011 at CBSO Centre, Birmingham.