Christopher Mayo (born 1980) is a Canadian composer of contemporary classical music.

Chris Mayo
Born1980 (age 43–44)
NationalityCanadian
Occupationcomposer

Born in Toronto, Mayo studied at the University of Toronto where he was awarded the Glenn Gould Composition Prize and the William Erving Fairclough Scholarship and earned an Honours Bachelor of Music Degree. Mayo relocated to London in 2003, where he studied with Julian Anderson and in 2004 obtained a Master of Music in Composition from the Royal College of Music.[1] In 2011 Mayo obtained a PhD in composition from the Royal Academy of Music where he studied with Philip Cashian. Mayo has received numerous awards including the Royal Philharmonic Society Composition Prize in 2005[1] and the Ensemble contemporain de Montreal's Generation 2010 Audience Prize.[2]

Mayo's work has been commissioned and performed by numerous ensembles and organizations such as the London Symphony Orchestra,[3] the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra,[4] BBC Symphony Orchestra,[5] Tête à Tête Opera),[6] Ensemble contemporain de Montreal,[7] Le Nouvel Ensemble Moderne,[8] ACME (American Contemporary Music Ensemble) and L'arsenale,[9] Motion Ensemble, Handel House Museum,[10] Michael Collins and the Dante Quartet,[11] arraymusic,[1] Carnegie Hall[12] and the MATA Festival.[9] Mayo wrote a piece for inclusion on the NMC Recordings album The NMC Songbook[13] which won the 2009 Gramophone Contemporary Award.[14] Mayo's music has been performed at festivals such as Bang on a Can Summer Music Festival, Aldeburgh Festival[1] and Cheltenham Music Festival. In September 2012, Mayo was announced as the Manchester Camerata Composer in Residence for the 2012/13 season[15][16] during which time he wrote three new works for the ensemble.

Mayo is a member of the Camberwell Composers Collective along with fellow composers Mark Bowden (composer), Anna Meredith, Emily Hall and Charlie Piper.[17] Together with his fellow Camberwell Composers Collective members, Mayo served as New Music Associate at Kettle's Yard in Cambridge from 2008 to 2010.[18] In 2009 Mayo appeared in the BBC Two television documentary Classic Goldie in which he assisted the UK drum and bass musician Goldie to write a commission for performance in the 2009 Proms season.[19]

Mayo has also undertaken numerous orchestration projects for notable pop music artists including collaborations for the Polaris Music Prize[20] and with Canadian singer-songwriter Carly Rae Jepsen[21][22] and Canadian Inuk throat singer Tanya Tagaq.[23]

Mayo's recent premieres have included commissions for Crash Ensemble[24] and Alarm Will Sound.[25]

As a distinguished alumni, Mayo was named an Associate of the Royal Academy of Music (ARAM) in their 2018 Honours and Awards list.[26]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Home, retrieved 6 May 2011
  2. ^ Elodie Crézé (6 December 2010). "Génération 2010, la Star Académie du classique". L'Express du Pacifique. Archived from the original on 3 October 2011. Retrieved 16 May 2011.
  3. ^ London Symphony Orchestra – 404, retrieved 22 August 2011
  4. ^ Canadian Music Centre, archived from the original on 15 January 2013, retrieved 22 August 2011
  5. ^ http://www.carnegiehall.org/Event.aspx?id=2400, retrieved 29 April 2011 {{citation}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  6. ^ Blind Date, retrieved 22 August 2011
  7. ^ Elissa Poole (9 November 2010). "Guitar solos and a blindfolded orchestra – chamber music gets deep and funny". The Globe and Mail. Toronto. Retrieved 1 May 2011.
  8. ^ Archived copy, archived from the original on 10 August 2011, retrieved 22 August 2011{{citation}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  9. ^ a b Allan Kozinn (11 May 2011). "Seven Composers, Seven Countries". The New York Times. Retrieved 15 May 2011.
  10. ^ Handel House Museum – New Oratorio, archived from the original on 14 April 2013, retrieved 22 August 2011
  11. ^ Home, retrieved 22 August 2011
  12. ^ Steve Smith (18 April 2011). "Dawn Upshaw and Students at Zankel Hall". The New York Times. Retrieved 15 May 2011.
  13. ^ http://www.nmcrec.co.uk/recording/nmc-songbook#78, retrieved 22 August 2011 {{citation}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  14. ^ Gramophone Contemporary Award 2009, Gramophone. Retrieved 2011-05-15.
  15. ^ http://www.manchestercamerata.co.uk/news/chris-mayo-announced-as-new-composer-in-residence, retrieved 31 October 2012 {{citation}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  16. ^ "Manchester Camerata Announces Christopher Mayo As New Composer in Residence". The Classical Source. 8 October 2012. Retrieved 31 October 2012.
  17. ^ Camberwell Composers' Collective – Camberwell Composers' Collective, archived from the original on 7 September 2011, retrieved 22 August 2011
  18. ^ http://www.admin.cam.ac.uk/news/dp/2007111509, retrieved 22 August 2011 {{citation}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  19. ^ Lynn Barber (19 July 2009). "The Interview: Goldie". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 May 2011.
  20. ^ "1 composer, 3 Polaris Music Prize nominees: giving shortlisted artists a classical composition". CBC Radio. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
  21. ^ "Carly Rae Jepsen's synth-pop goes symphonic with the TSO". Retrieved 17 April 2018.
  22. ^ Tolentino, Jia (19 June 2017). "Dreaming of Canada with Carly Rae Jepsen". The New Yorker. ISSN 0028-792X. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
  23. ^ "TSO's New Creations Festival breaks away from convention". Retrieved 17 April 2018.
  24. ^ "Crash Ensemble on Crashing New Music Dublin". RTE.ie. 27 February 2017. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
  25. ^ Lagore, Connor. "Composers establish connections during week-long festival". Columbia Missourian. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
  26. ^ "Academy Honours Announced – Royal Academy of Music". ram.ac.uk. Archived from the original on 30 August 2019. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
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