Music Advisory Council
Giles Swayne
Giles Swayne was born in June 1946, grew up in and around Liverpool, and wrote music from an early age. He studied at Cambridge 1964-68, at the Royal Academy of Music 1968-71, then worked as a repetiteur and accompanist, and was on the Glyndebourne music staff 1973-4.
In 1980 Cry was premiered by the BBC Singers under John Poole. This piece, which is performed worldwide, has twice been accorded an entire Prom, and the CD is a best-seller.
In 1981 he visited Senegambia to research and record the folk-music of the Jola people of Casamance. This seminal trip created a bond with Africa which is celebrated in several works, including Missa Tiburtina, which is in the repertoire of the NYCGB (and has recently been recorded for Delphian Records).
In 1990 he moved to Ghana, but returned to Britain in 1996, and now lives in London and teaches composition at Cambridge.
