Dominic Sewell, Composer

His fanfare is playing in the background.

About the Composer

Born in 1973, Dominic studied violin and singing from a very early age and attended Westminster Cathedral Choir School and subsequently the Oratory School in Reading. He read music at Oxford University and was taught by Susan Wollenberg, John Warwack and Bojan Bouic. After graduating in 1994 he gradually established himself as a composer and copyist/orchestrator working on programmes such as BBC1’s Walking with series with the composer Ben Bartlett, as well as albums for Sarah Brightman, music for the film A Christmas Carol and a number of TV and radio commercials.

He composes music for the theatre as well as the concert hall and his work is performed regularly throughout the country and in Europe. Recent projects have included a Piano Trio (Guildford Festival), a theatre score for a new play - Dark Woods Beyond for Bedlam Theatre Company written by Christopher William Hill, and a number of other concert hall works including Esoteria for clarinet and string trio (review in Tempo here). Dominic’s song works are performed regularly throughout the country in competitions, conservatoire classes and recitals. Last year Dominic was commissioned along with three other composers by English National Ballet to a write a short piece in a project called Synergy and he worked with the choreographer and principal dancer Yat-Sen Chang.

Dominic’s current interests lie in film reconstruction. In 2007 he was commissioned by the Brighton Festival to aurally transcribe, arrange and orchestrate Walton’s missing score for a full live performance of a new digitally re-mastered version of Henry V (dir. Lawrence Olivier). The first performance was given by the RPO and was conducted by Carl Davis in May. The event was favorably previewed in the Independent and the BBC’s Digital Planet programme and was also reviewed in The Telegraph. Dominic is currently working on the full publication for OUP.

Dominic has a varied teaching career which encompasses composition, musicianship and A level music at Trinity Laban Junior Department and Godalming College in Surrey, together with running an on-going series of workshops and seminars at Pro Corda Summer School in Suffolk. He has also lectured at Trinity Laban. and was also an examiner for the Edexcel A level specialising in harmony and counterpoint. Dominic completed his Masters degree (in composition) as a scholar with Joe Horovitz in 2006 and is continuing with doctoral work (on Walton) at the Royal College of Music. His musical works are published by Broadbent & Dunn Ltd., and he continues to write articles as a reviewer for Classic FM, Classroom Music and Music Teacher magazines.

Forthcoming work includes a co-written dance piece for the Philip Lawrence Awards, some Gershwin arrangements for ENB’s Summertime Project at the RAH, some works for Godalming College, a salsa dance project and a new piece for the clarinetist Sarah Williamson for the 2008 Brighton Festival.

In 2009/10 work will begin on reconstructing Walton’s score for the 1969 film The Battle of Britain for live performance.

Education

1991-1994 Lady Margaret Hall, University of Oxford BA Hons in Music Class II/ii - studied with Susan Wollenberg and John Warwack (emphasis on compositional techniques, Schenker analysis, musical aesthetics) converted to MA (Oxon) in 2001.

1986-1991 The Oratory School, Woodcote 3 A Levels, 8 GCSE's

Diploma 1990 ALCM (Associate of the London College of Music) Violin Performance & Theory

Other Skills Violin (diploma standard (1990), electric and acoustic guitar, piano (Grade8 standard), singing (Chorister at Westminster Cathedral Choir School), Theory of Music (Grade8)

Other Current Work Incidental music for BEDLAM, Theatre Company of Cornwall for Kafka (Mar to June '02) Peripatetic Violin Teacher at St. Margaret's School, Bushey. Private music tuition includes 'A' Level preparation and theory. Supply Support Teacher for Junior Royal Academy of Music Engaged as a freelance violinist (principally with Lawyers Music and Horsham Symphony Orchestra) Regular functions as guitarist/vocalist with six-piece function band (Loganberry Jam) Music critic and reviewer for amazon.co.uk together with Opera Now, Music Teacher, Early Music Today and The Singer Magazines (Rhinegold Publishing) (clippings available upon request)

Compositions

Commercial Work Co-Composer with Benjamin Pope for infommercial for Sightsavers (2001/2 release for Sky Digital and Cable UK/Ireland) Production Assistant for Philip Pope for soundtrack album of the film animation of A Christmas Carol (2001) Prepared orchestration, scores and parts for BAFTA winning composer Ben Bartlett on score for all six episodes of Walking with Beasts for BBC1 (2001) involving a full 56 piece orchestra, separate percussion and 24 members of the BBC Singers. This involved forty pieces of music from 30 seconds in length to 3 minutes. Co-Composer with Benjamin Pope for commercial for Sightsavers (2000) Violinist and production assistant for Benjamin Pope on commercials for Norwich Union (2000) Composer of score for short films Blowing Wedge (BAFTA premiere (2000), second place at Wandsworth Film Festival) and Sour Business (2001) Solo violinist for Scala Productions' Five Seconds to Spare (2000) with Ray Winstone Guitar on Channel 5 Documentary Clone Rangers (1999) Production Assistant for commercial for Vivendi (1998)

Selected Compositions

Fiddler on the Roof adapted and arranged for ten wind, premiere Landmark Arts Centre, Teddington, June 30th 2002)
Incidental music for Bedlam (The Theatre Company of Cornwall) for Kafka (March to June 2002)
A Winner of Horsham Wind Ensembles' Commissioning Competition to write a 15-minute piece for 15 wind players
The Traveller (premiere June 23rd 2002)
The Saints for ten wind (20 mins) premièred at The Hawth, Crawley March 2002
Beneath Our Eyes for ten wind and piano (20 mins.) premiered at The Hawth November 4th, 2001 to critical success
Variations for eleven wind (15 mins.) premiered at The Hawth (June 24th, 2001) to critical success, published by Phylloscopus Publications ISMN M-57016-559-5
I Sing of a Maiden (shortlisted in the Yorkshire Composers Festival 2001) to be recorded in May by the Heritage Singers.
Invocation I (for mixed large ensemble) (5 mins.)
The Three Piece Suite (a set of three miniatures for piano)
Kyrie (for large mixed ensemble) (2000)
He is Risen (for piano trio and tenor solo) (2001)
Love Gained (for solo guitar) (2000)
Simile Est (3 part motet for female choir)
Rorate Caeli (for 2 violins premiered in Cornwall 1999)
Scherzo (for string quartet) to be performed at Cranleigh School

Dominic Sewell
115 Weald Lane
Harrow Weald
Middlesex HA3 5HB
Tel/Fax: 020 8861 0848
Mobile: 07957 368 356