Biography

 

David Braid was born in Wrexham and grew up in Colwyn Bay on the North Wales coast.

His earliest introduction to music was through learning the piano from his mother when around eight years old, also taking some staggeringly non-enjoyable violin lessons around the age of 10.

While still in junior school he started the first of his numerous rock bands, playing the electric guitar; later playing the fiddle in the secondary school folk group.

In 1988 he began a ruthlessly intense 12 months of 7 hours a day practice to learn classical guitar from scratch with local teacher Jonathan Richards – while working as a waiter in the evenings to pay for the lessons himself.

This culminated in his landing a place at The Royal College of Music; starting in 1990 he became one of very few joint-first study students: Guitar with Charles Ramirez and Composition with Edwin Roxburgh. While there, he also attended the composition classes of George Benjamin.

David later undertook further composition study, with Robert Saxton at The University of Oxford and in Cracow with Zbigwniew Bujarski.

His work list stands at some 170 pieces, including three symphonies, dozens of chamber works, choral music, some 70+ songs and an increasing number of releases where he plays some seven or more instruments himself, while also doing all the recording, editing and mastering.

He later took up the mandolin and the Renaissance lute and, as with the guitar, has now written extensively for these instruments, solos, songs, duos, in ensembles, etc.

David works have been broadcast live numerous times on BBC Radio 3 and performed in the US, Germany, Poland, Russia, Denmark, Sweden, & South America.

Major UK performances have taken place at Wigmore Hall and The Purcell Room, King’s Place, The Brunel Museum Tunnel Shaft, Wilton’s Music Hall, et al.

The string orchestra version of his setting of Pablo Neruda’s poem Mañana, Morning, was premiered in Moscow. The original version, for soprano and string quartet received its UK premiere at the Wigmore Hall sung by Grace Davidson and features on his first CD (with Toccata Classics). Morning was also broadcast on Australian radio.

Steve Reich said of this work: ” ‘Morning’. Integration of voice with string quartet beautifully done – particularly first entrance. Writing for instruments is solid and sounds very good to me. Very honest stuff”.

David is the recipient of numerous awards and scholarships including: The John Longmire Prize for Composition, Royal College of Music; The Jack Morrison Prize for Guitar, RCM; The Composition Prize for Youth Orchestra, Murcia, Spain; The Fine Arts Sinfonia Composition Prize (London); The Waterson Scholarship, University of Oxford; the Oppenheim/Downes Memorial Scholarship; The University Graduate Scholarship, University of Oxford and SPNM Short-listed composer 2001, among others.

As well as concert music, David has written film scores, most recently for Polish animation: Blask (Illumination) and the short film: Compartment.

He also wrote the tutorial book/CD, Play Classical Guitar that was also published in Spanish translation (Backbeat Books, 2000).

Education:

M.Litt. (Composition), University of Oxford, St. Anne’s College
M.Mus. (Composition), Royal College of Music, London
Diploma (Composition/Conducting), Cracow Academy of Music, Poland
Dip.RCM. (Composition/Guitar), Royal College of Music, London

Awards:

John Longmire Prize for Composition, Royal College of Music, London, 1998
Jack Morrison Prize for Guitar, Royal College of Music, London, 1993
Fine Arts Sinfonia Composition Prize, London, 2005