Nigel Osborne

Nigel Osborne
MBE
Osborne at Rhodes Forum 2014
Born23 June 1948 (1948-06-23) (age 76)
Manchester, England
OccupationComposer

Nigel Osborne MBE (born 23 June 1948) is a British composer, teacher and aid worker. He served as Reid Professor of Music[1] at the University of Edinburgh and has also taught at the Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien Hannover. Known for his extensive charity work supporting war traumatised children using music therapy techniques, especially in the Balkans during the Bosnian War,[2][3][4] and in the Syrian conflict.[5][6] He speaks eight languages.[7]

Osborne was born in Manchester, England, to a Scottish family. He studied composition with Kenneth Leighton, Egon Wellesz, and Witold Rudziński. His compositions include the opera The Electrification of the Soviet Union,[8] Concerto for Flute and Chamber Orchestra[9] commissioned by the City of London Sinfonia, I am Goya,[10] Remembering Esenin,[11] and Birth of the Beatles Symphony.[12]

Osborne retired from his Edinburgh University position in 2012, and is now working internationally as freelance composer, arranger and aid worker. Currently working with war-traumatised children from the Russian invasion of Ukraine.[13][14]

  1. ^ Arts & Ents. (21 June 2012). 'The professor who rocked the establishment'. Herald Scotland. (United Kingdom)
  2. ^ Carmack, Elizabeth. (January 2005). "Balkans’ Summer Music Camp 2004". Cambridge Music Conference. (Puntižela/Pula, Croatia)
  3. ^ Osborne, Nigel. (24 July 2013). "Nigel Osborne – Music and Trauma". The Musical Brain 2013 Conference. YouTube.
  4. ^ Morris, Christian. (30 January 2018). 'Nigel Osborne Interview'. Composition Today.
  5. ^ Bradley, Jane. (8 December 2015). "Composer brings music to children in refugee camps". The Scotsman. (Scotland, UK).
  6. ^ "Nigel Osborne". Cambridge Music Conference, 8 December 2015. United Kingdom.
  7. ^ Bunting, Madeleine. (1 October 2008). "The riddle of the rocks". The Guardian, United Kingdom.
  8. ^ O'Mahony, John. (9 July 2002). "Notes from the underground". The Guardian, United Kingdom.
  9. ^ Osborne, Nigel. (1980). "Nigel Osborne: Concerto". Universal Edition. City of London Sinfonia, United Kingdom.
  10. ^ Osborne, Nigel. (1977). "I am Goya", Nigel Osborne (text by Andrei Voznesensky; English translation by Nigel Osborne)]. National Library of Australia.
  11. ^ Osborne, Nigel. "Nigel Osborne: Remembering Esenin". Universal Edition
  12. ^ Jones, Catherine. (14 January 2018). "Review: Celebrating Sgt Pepper Live at Echo Arena". Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra. Echo Arena. (Liverpool, England).
  13. ^ Osborne, Nigel. (23 February 2023). “I don't know why I'm angry, I'm angry, I'm angry…”. VAN Magazine.
  14. ^ Unbroken: composer uses music to help Ukrainians through trauma (requires login). (9 November 2023). Page 13: The Times