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Lesser, David T. (b. January 15, 1966,
Birmingham). British composer of mostly chamber, vocal and piano works that
have been performed throughout Europe to critical acclaim; he is also active as
a pianist.
Mr. Lesser studied
composition with Philip Cannon from 1985-86 at the Royal College of Music in London
and with Margaret Lucy Wilkins at
Huddersfield University from 1991-93 and earned his MA. He also studied
composition with Simon Bainbridge from 1986-88, Michael Finnissy in 1993 and
James Dillon in 1994.
Outside of composition, he was
chorister and head chorister at St. Martin’s in the Bull Ring, Birmingham from
1978-82. In addition, he studied the recorder with Paul Clark from 1982-85, Ross
Winter at the Royal College of Music from 1985-90 and Alan Davis from 1989-91.
He also studied piano with Robert Sutherland from 1985-95 at the Royal College
of Music.
In 1992, under the guidance
of the composer, he was the ensemble director for the British première of Sternklang by
Karlheinz Stockhausen. In 1993, he attended the composition
course run by the Scottish Chamber Orchestra with Sir
Peter Maxwell Davies and Judith Weir on the Orkney Islands. Also in
1993, he was awarded a bursary by West Midlands Arts to attend the first Contemporary
Music Making for Amateurs course in Sheffield, as a result of which he was
appointed Joint Regional Coordinator for COMA.
From 1986-93 he was a tutor
at the Midlands Arts Centre in Birmingham, from 1993-99, he was a lecturer at
the University of Warwick in Coventry and since 1993, he has taught piano and
recorder for the Solihull Music Service, the Lyndon Music Centre and the Lyndon
School in Solihull. Since 1994, he has been a part-time tutor at the University
of Warwick (and a Senior Teaching Fellow since 2000) and has worked as a free-lance
copyist and proofreader.
He is married to the coloratura
soprano Clare Lesser and often accompanies her.
CONTACT INFORMATION
E-mail address: DTLesser@aol.com
Street address: Mr. David Lesser, Sheepwash Farm,
Fishpond, Bridport, Dorset DT6 6NW, UK
COMPLETE LIST OF WORKS
ORCHESTRAL: Wavedark, recorder orchestra, 1985; Darkening Images, 1990; Element I, large orchestra, 1993,
revised 2002
CHAMBER MUSIC: Te lucis ante terminum, bass recorder,
piano, 1984; Three Pieces, oboe,
piano, 1984; Passion Tropes, oboe,
1984, revised 2000; Scape, cello,
1985; Dreams of the Lost Land,
violin, ensemble, tape, 1986, revised 2002; 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 (arrangement of work for soprano,
ensemble); Liber Hymnorum I, cello,
1993; Orkney Aphorisms, A-clarinet
obbligato, 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; Elegies II, string quartet, 1996,
revised 2002; Remembrances of Nothing,
flute, alto flute, 1996 (also version for flute, tape, 1996); Deus miserere – Si ascendero, alto recorder, 1997; Sorge, 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
CHORAL: Anthem for an Anniversary (text by
Kathleen Norcross), mixed chorus, organ, 1997; There is no rose, mixed chorus, 1999
VOCAL: Kyrie, soprano, cello, 1988, revised
2002; Haiku (text by Basho [translated
by L. Stryk]), soprano, oboe obbligato, ensemble (flute [+ alto flute],
clarinet [+ bass clarinet], harp, violin, viola, cello, marimba, 1992 (also
arranged as Eight Haiku, soprano,
oboe, 1992; also arranged as Five
Fantasias from Haiku, ensemble); Hymns
and Fragments (text from an anonymous source [translated by the composer]),
soprano, cello, 1993; Tränen (text by
Andreas Gryphius), high soprano, alto recorder, harpsichord, percussion, 1994; Virgil Settings, female voice, 1995; Zwei Gedichte (text by Nikolaus Lenau),
high voice, piano, 1995; artemisia… lake waves… Artemis (text by Ezra Pound), 2 sopranos, vibraphone, 1997, revised
2002; O ignis spiritus (text by Hildegard
von Bingen [adapted by Clare Lesser]), female voice, 1997; Avernus, high soprano, piano, 2000; 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, accordion, percussion, 2000; Ferne Tränen I-III (text by Andreas Gryphius), mezzo-soprano,
trombone, violin, piano, button accordion, 2001 (each of its three sections may
be performed separately)
PIANO: Nachtstücke, 1991; Schattenbilder, 1995; Feuilles,
1998; Je sais les cieux crevant en éclairs,
2001
HARPSICHORD: Elegies I, 1996
(Last updated on January 17, 2003)
