profile

Trevor Siemens is a contemporary classical composer whose work explores the drama of musical transformation in a search for the beauty and violence that exists in that moment between silence and sound. His inspiration comes from diverse sources, though much of his music draws upon a medieval European tradition, transformed through gestures that exploit the spectral properties of the sound. Most importantly he looks to compose music with immediacy, music that engages both performer and listener.

Recent compositions include solo piano pieces written for and performed by Slava Sidorenko and Geoff Poole. In addition to solo works Trevor’s compositional output includes two chamber operas, works for ensemble, choir, orchestra and sound installation. His music has been performed by the Grupo Novo da Unirio in Rio, Brazil; Ostrava Banda in the Czech Republic; the Fell Clarinet Quartet, Psappha, Orkest De Ereprijs, and the New Music Players in the UK; and Cathedral Choirs in both Montréal and Manchester.

Trevor’s formal music education started relatively late, after completing a Science degree and studies in Medicine at the University of Manitoba he went on to study music at McGill University in Montréal, Québec. At McGill, he studied composition with John Rea, alcides lanza and Denys Bouliane, and voice with Jan Simons. He pursued further study in composition with John Casken and Geoff Poole, and was awarded a Masters in Composition from Manchester in 1999 and a PhD from the University of Bristol in 2008.

In addition to composition Trevor is also active as a choral conductor, and has been Head of Music at the King David High School in Manchester, UK since 2002.