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Lesser, David (b. January 15, 1966, Birmingham). British composer, now resident in the United Arab Emirates, of mostly chamber, vocal and piano works that have been performed throughout Europe; he is also active as a pianist.
Mr. Lesser studied composition with Philip Cannon at the Royal College of Music in London in 1985–86, where he also studied recorder with Ross Winter from 1985–90 and piano with Robert Sutherland from 1985–95. He then studied composition with Margaret Lucy Wilkins at the University of Huddersfield from 1991–93, where he earned his MA. He also studied composition privately with Simon Bainbridge from 1986–88, Michael Finnissy in 1993 and James Dillon in 1994 and recorder privately with Paul Clark from 1982–85 and Alan Davis from 1989–91.
He is also active in other positions. He sang as a chorister and as head chorister at St. Martin's in the Bull Ring in Birmingham from 1978–82. Under the guidance of the composer, he was the ensemble director in the British première of Sternklang by Karlheinz Stockhausen in 1992. He attended the first Contemporary Music Making for Amateurs course in Sheffield in 1993, on a bursary from West Midlands Arts, and later served as Joint Regional Coordinator for COMA. In addition, he has worked as a free-lance copyist and proofreader.
He taught as a tutor at the Midlands Arts Centre in Birmingham from 1986–93 and as a lecturer at the University of Warwick in Coventry from 1993–99, where he was a part-time tutor from 1994–2005, a Senior Teaching Fellow from 2000–05 and Open Studies Certificate Coordinator from 2005–07. He also taught piano and recorder for the Solihull Music Service, the Lyndon Music Centre and the Lyndon School in Solihull from 1993–2007.
He is married to the coloratura soprano Clare Lesser and often serves as her accompanist.
He has lived in the United Arab Emirates since 2007.
CONTACT INFORMATION
E-mail address: DTLesser@aol.com
COMPLETE LIST OF WORKS
ORCHESTRAL: Wavedark, recorder orchestra, 1985; Darkening Images, 1990
CHAMBER MUSIC: Te lucis ante terminum, bass recorder, piano, 1984; Three Pieces, oboe, piano, 1984; Passion Tropes, oboe, 1984, revised 2000; Scape, cello, 1985; The Dawn of Dreams, viola, 1987; Words in the Dark, alto recorder, 1988; Gloria tibi trinitas, recorder ensemble, 1988; Ghosts, cello, 1988; Pages Condamnés, alto recorder, piano, 1989; Spells and Incantations, oboe, piano, 1991; Five Fantasias from 'Haiku', ensemble, 1992 (shorter version of Haiku); Liber Hymnorum I, cello, 1993 (shorter version of Hymns and Fragments); Orkney Aphorisms, obbligato A-clarinet, ensemble (flute, violin, viola, cello), 1993; Liber Hymnorum II, cello, 1994; Snare, flute, piano, 1994; Gestures of Loss, recorder ensemble, 1994; Charlie's Farewell, clarinet, 1995; Remembrances of Nothing, flute, alto flute/tape, 1996; Deus miserere – Si ascendero, alto recorder, 1997; Sorge (two studies), violin, viola, cello, 1998; Elegies III, flute (+ alto flute, stones), A-clarinet (+ stones), bass clarinet, violin, viola, cello, piano, percussion, 1998; Call, French horn, 1998; Rain and Stone (In Memoriam – Ted Hughes 1930–1998), bass flute, harp, viola, percussion, 1998; Beginning, cello, 1998 (also version for viola, 1998); Discourses Inscribed in Air, soprano recorder (+ alto recorder), alto recorder (+ tenor recorder), tenor recorder (+ bass recorder), 2000; Mobile, B-flat trumpet, 2000; '...für einen Augenblick die Tanzfigur...', tenor recorder, 2001; Shroud Tracing, 3 alto recorders (all + stones), 2002; Briefe an..., amplified bass recorder, live electronics, 2003; Advent, piccolo, B-flat flügelhorn, 2003; Andachtsbild I, bass clarinet, tenor trombone, harp, viola, double bass, piano, percussion, 2004; Two Inscriptions, clarinet, piano, 2008; Geschrieben an der Wand, alto recorder, oboe, bassoon, guitar, cello, percussion, 2008; Regenlieder, A-clarinet, viola, 2008
CHORAL: Anthem for an Anniversary (text by Kathleen Norcross), 4 mixed voices, organ, 1997; There is no rose (anthem), 4 mixed voices, 1999
VOCAL: Haiku (text by Matsuo Bashō [translated by Lucien Stryk]), soprano, obbligato oboe, ensemble (flute [+ alto flute], clarinet [+ bass clarinet], harp, violin, viola, cello, marimba), 1992 (also shorter versions as Eight Haiku, soprano, oboe, 1992; Five Fantasias from 'Haiku'); Hymns and Fragments (text from an anonymous Anglo-Saxon source [translated by the composer]), soprano, cello, 1993 (also shorter version as Liber Hymnorum I); Tränen... (text by Andreas Gryphius), high soprano, alto recorder, harpsichord, percussion, 1994; Virgil Settings (text by Virgil), female voice, 1995; Zwei Gedichte (text by Nikolaus Lenau), high voice, piano, 1995; O ignis spiritus (trope, text by Hildegard von Bingen, adapted by Clare Lesser), female voice, 1997; Avernus, soprano, piano, 1999; Branches (text by Arthur Rimbaud), soprano, clarinet (+ bass clarinet), trumpet, violin, cello, piano, percussion, 2000; Three Ancient Names (text by Callimachus of Cyrene), soprano, clarinet, cello, 2000; Soleil Noir (text by Gérard de Nerval), soprano, bass clarinet (+ contrabass clarinet), cello, piano, piano accordion, percussion, 2000; Ferne Tränen I–III (song-cycle, text by Andreas Gryphius), mezzo-soprano, trombone, violin, piano, button accordion, 2001 (each of its three sections may be performed separately); '...et fait l'abîme fleurant...' (text by Arthur Rimbaud), soprano (+ 3 suspended crotales), clarinet, double bass, button accordion, 2002; Concerning the Ibis (text by Ovid), soprano (+ finger cymbals), E-flat clarinet, button accordion, 2002
PIANO: Nachtstücke, 1991; Schattenbilder, 1995; Feuilles, 1998; Je sais les cieux crevant en éclairs, 2001; Noirs, 2003; La Trépigneuse, 2008
HARPSICHORD: Elegies I, 1996
(Last updated on November 18, 2008)
