Research output per year
Research output per year
TW20 0EX
Samantha Fernando is a lecturer in Composition, convening and teaching on a number of modules at both undergraduate and postgraduate level. For details of her current composition work please visit www.samanthafernando.com
Resonance and harmonic colour play a vital role in Samantha’s music. This preoccupation yields pieces with an intensely colourful and often meditative quality. Other art-forms are a constant source of inspiration which have prompted collaborations with writers, directors, choreographers and performers.
Samantha (b.1984) has worked with numerous ensembles including the Philharmonia Orchestra, Riot Ensemble, The BBC Singers, LOD Muziektheater (Ghent), Silbersee Vocal Ensemble (Amsterdam) and The London Sinfonietta. Her music has been performed at festivals here and abroad such as Aldeburgh Music, Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, Sounds New, Gaudeamus Muziekweek, York Late Music, Lake District Summer Music and The Oxford Lieder Festival.
In 2013, she was awarded an RPS Composition Prize and was commissioned to write a new work for the Philharmonia Orchestra as part of the Music of Today series. Samantha’s music has been broadcast on BBC Radio 3 and released on labels NMC and Coviello Classics. In 2018 she was commissioned to write a new work, Formations, celebrating the 50th birthday of the London Sinfonietta, premiered at the Royal Festival Hall and conducted by Vladimir Jurowski.
In 2019, Formations was choreographed by Kristen McNally and performed by the Royal Ballet in a showcase of new dance at the Linbury Theatre, ROH. Breathing Space for symphony orchestra was premiered by the Philharmonia Orchestra in Spring 2019, conducted by Martyn Brabbins.
Spring 2021 saw the premiere of Current, Rising, a new hyper VR opera, directed by Netia Jones, designed by Jo Scotcher and produced by the Royal Opera House and Figment Productions.
Samantha holds a BA in Music from the University of Oxford and an MMus in Composition from The Royal Academy of Music. She earned her doctorate in Composition from the University of Oxford, supervised by Robert Saxton and Jonathan Cross.
https://www.rayfieldallied.com/artists/samantha-fernando
https://soundcloud.com/samanthafernando