Deborah Pritchard


Deborah Pritchard is a British composer, known for her concert works, a compositional approach informed by her synaesthesia, and her collaborative work with visual artists, most notably Maggi Hambling.
She was a winner of a 2017 British Composer Award.

Education

Pritchard trained as a double bassist and composer, firstly at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, before completing an MMus at the Royal Academy of Music, where she studied with Simon Bainbridge, and a DPhil at Worcester College, Oxford where she studied with Robert Saxton.

Career

Her work received early attention following the inclusion of her piece Chanctonbury Ring on the album "The Hoxton Thirteen", released by NMC Recordings in 2001. Her music has since been released by labels including Signum and Nimbus.
Her music has been commissioned and premiered by ensembles including the London Symphony Orchestra, the London Sinfonietta, the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Royal Northern Sinfonia, Philharmonia Orchestra, BBC Singers, Christ Church Cathedral Choir, Allegri String Quartet, English String Orchestra, Orchestra of the Swan and Composers Ensemble.
She was composer in residence at the 2016 Lichfield Festival.

Synaesthesia

Pritchard experiences synaesthesia, specifically perceiving sound as colour, light and darkness. In her own words;
"Ever since I was a small child, I’ve been aware that some harmonies seemed warm whilst others appeared cold. The relationship between colours and intervals seemed so natural to me that I didn’t question it… When I engage with colour, light and darkness in my work, I become aware of a broader emotional content and hope to illuminate some kind of beauty to the listener."
Pritchard frequently paints visualisations of her musical works, and has also been commissioned by ensembles to paint visual guides of works by other composers for inclusion in concert programme notes.

Work in response to visual art

Pritchard has written several works in response to paintings by Maggi Hambling, having collaborated with the artist at her studio in Suffolk.
The first of these was the violin concerto Wall of Water, which was premiered by violinist Harriet Mackenzie and the English String Orchestra during the Frieze Art Fair in London. Images of Hambling's series of seascape paintings, also titled Wall of Water, were projected during the performance.
Subsequent pieces written in response to Hambling's work were Waves and Waterfalls for chamber ensemble, commissioned by the London Sinfonietta, and Edge, a double concerto for violin, harp and string orchestra, after Hambling's paintings on the theme of global warming, which was premiered at the Aldeburgh Festival.
Other artists on whose work Pritchard has drawn include Hughie O'Donoghue, George Shaw, Yinka Shonibare, Steinunn Thorarinsdottir, J.M.W. Turner and James Turrell.

Selected works