Kenneth Hesketh
Biography
Kenneth Hesketh (b. 20 July 1968 in Liverpool, United Kingdom) is a British composer.
He began composing whilst a chorister at Liverpool Anglican Cathedral; he completed his first orchestral work at the age of 13 and received his first formal commission at 19 for the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra under Sir Charles Groves.
After attending Tanglewood in 1995 where he studied with Henri Dutilleux, Hesketh completed a Masters degree in Composition at the University of Michigan, USA. A series of awards followed including a scholarship from the Toepfer Foundation, Hamburg at the behest of Sir Simon Rattle, a Foundation for Sport and the Arts award and the Constant and Kit Lambert Fellowship at the Royal College of Music where he is now a professor in composition and orchestration.
Hesketh was New Music Fellow at Kettle's Yard and Corpus Christi College, Cambridge from 2003 to 2005 where he curated a series of new music chamber concerts. The Foundation André Chevillion-Yvonne Bonnaud prize was awarded to Hesketh at the 2004 Concours International de Piano d'Orléans after a performance of Three Japanese Miniatures by pianist Daniel Becker.
He has received numerous national and international commissions from, amongst others, the Fromm Foundation at Harvard University, the Continuum Ensemble, a Faber Millennium Commission for Birmingham Contemporary Music Group premiered under Sir Simon Rattle, the BBC Philharmonic conducted by Vasilly Sinaisky, Hans Werner Henze and the Endymion Ensemble (in honour of Henze's 75th birthday), the Munich Biennale, the Michael Vyner Trust for the London Sinfonietta and The Opera Group.
In September 2007 Hesketh began his two year tenure as Composer in the House with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra in a scheme devised by the Royal Philharmonic Society in partnership with the PRS Foundation.
Works for Winds
- Along Dark Paths (2021)
- Autumn's Elegy (2013)
- The Cloud of Unknowing (2004/2015)
- Danceries (1999)
- Danceries (Set II) (2011)
- Diaghilev Dances (2002)
- A Festive Overture (2001)
- The Gilded Theatre (2008)
- In Ictu Oculi (2015)
- Infernal Ride (2003)
- Masque (2001)
- Vranjanka (2005)
- Whirlegigg (2003)
Resources
- Barber, Carolyn. "Danceries (Set II)." In Teaching Music through Performance in Band. Volume 10, Compiled and edited by Richard Miles, 939-952. Chicago: GIA Publications, 2015.
- Becker, Samuel. Interview with Kenneth Hesketh, Part 1 Winds Magazine.
- Becker, Samuel. Interview with Kenneth Hesketh, Part 2 Winds Magazine.
- Heron, Mark. A Guide to rehearsal and performance - Kenneth Hesketh's DANCERIES Winds Magazine.
- Kenneth Hesketh. Wikipedia. Accessed 24 May 2021
- Miles, Richard B., and Larry Blocher. 2002. Teaching Music Through Performance in Band. Volume 4. Chicago: GIA Publications. pp. 603.