Giles Swayne
Biography
b. 1946 Hitchin, Hertfordshire, England. Studied composition with Nicholas Maw, Harrison Birtwistle, Alan Bush and Olivier Messiaen. From 1978 developed an interest in African music; made field recordings of Jola music, Senegal, 1980. Lived in Ghana 1990-96; now living in London. Teaches composition at Cambridge University, where he is Research Associate of Clare College. Core of his extensive output is choral and vocal, but he has written in many other categories. Critical acclaim for Pentecost Music (BBC Proms 1990), CRY (Proms 1983 and 1994) and HAVOC (Proms 1999).