Ian Wilson was born in Belfast in 1964 and obtained the first PhD in composition from the University of Ulster, which, in 1993, commissioned his orchestral work Rise in celebration of the tenth anniversary of its foundation. His music has been performed and broadcast on six continents by artists such as the National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland, the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, the Ulster, Belgrade Philharmonic and Norwegian Radio Orchestras, the London Mozart Players and the Irish Chamber Orchestra, the Vanbrugh, Vogler and Endellion Quartets, the Psappha, Gemini and Concorde ensembles, Gerard McChrystal and Harry Sparnaay. Works have been performed at many festivals including the BBC Proms, ISCM World Music Days, the Frankfurt Book Fair, the Cheltenham, Spitalfields and Bath Festivals and the Ultima Festival in Oslo, where Running, Thinking, Finding for orchestra received the composition prize in 1991.
He has written over sixty pieces including a chamber opera, seven concertos, orchestral pieces, six string quartets, three piano trios and many other chamber and vocal works.
In 1992 Ian Wilson was awarded the Macaulay Fellowship administered by the Arts Council of Ireland, and in 1998 he was elected to Aosdána, Ireland's state-sponsored body of creative artists. Between 2000 and 2003 he was AHRB Research Fellow in Creative and Performing Arts at the University of Ulster.
His music is published by Universal Edition (London) Ltd.
Click on any of the works listed above for alternative recordings.
