About
Paul Burnell (born 1960, Ystrad-Rhondda, South Wales) is a composer and musician based in London, UK. Having studied music at Dartington College of Arts, Exeter University and Royal Holloway College, he took a ten-year break from music, returning to concentrate on composition in the 1990s. He has received many commissions from festivals, Summer Schools, ensembles and professional musicians in the UK and abroad, including: the finale of the Bath International Music Festival; Inchcholm New Music Ensemble with a tour of performances in Scotland and the Czech Republic; CoMA, with performances by many of the associated ensembles and a feature of his works at the Summer School; a series of percussion pieces for Chris Brannick; a harpsichord piece performed by Jane Chapman; trios for the Stanesby Players and for the The Duruflé Trio; a trumpet quartet for Bella Tromba; vocal pieces for Sara Stowe, and many other pieces for a variety of instruments, including choir, string orchestra, piano (and toy piano), recorder orchestra, contemporary chamber groups of varying combinations and spoken word pieces. Paul enjoys writing pieces and experimenting with unusual combinations and instruments and often makes use of electronics and backing tracks. Some of his techniques can be found on his recorded albums such as ‘Leaving the Party on Pluto’, ‘Good to Go’, ‘Sticking with Childish Things’, ‘Face Each Aged Ache’, ‘Cabbage Heads’, ‘Accompanied Readings' Vols. 1 & 2’ and 'Griff Said Ruff'. in 2016 'Four Minutes - Four Daydreams' was recorded by the London Sinfonietta for an album of CoMA 'Open Score' pieces on the NMC label and James Bacon recorded the album 'It May Have Been: The Piano Works of Paul Burnell'. The choral piece 'A Birthday' was chosen as the winner in the Leatherhead Choral Society composition competition and was performed in July 2018. In 2021 the album 'Reflections on a Haunted House' was released and Constance Chow premiered the piano piece 'It May Have Been'. In 2022 the pieces 'December Air' and 'So (Not) To Speak were premiered by CoMA Singers under the direction of Janet Oates. The albums 'So (Not) To Speak' and 'Woodland So Brightly' were released in 2023 and 2024.
RECORDINGS
'The Time Has Come' - on album Network Vol 2 - Discus label 1995 // 'Passacaglia on themes of Joanne Johnson' (joint composition) - on album Passacaglia (Paul Ayres, organ) - Fand label 1998 // 'Jingles Vol 6' - Dennis label 1999 // 'Leaving the Party on Pluto' - Ipbo label 2001 // 'Running Round the School' - on album Childhood - Unknown Public label 2005 // 'Just Before Dawn' - on album 'Just Before Dawn' (Luca Miti, piano) - ants label 2005 //'Orange Juice' on Deep Wireless 4, Radio Art Compilation 2007 // 'Good To Go' - Ipbo label 2007 // Can you hear me?- on album '60x60 (2004-2005)' - Vox novus label 2007 // 'Thanks for That Bruce'- on album '60x60 (2006-2007)' - Vox Novus label 2008 // 'All the Same' on album 'A4 Compositions: one' (The Great Learning Orchestra) - Sonoloco label 2009 // 'Sticking with Childish Things' - Ipbo label 2010 // 'Ember/Kindle' on album 'Fusion' (Duo Ricercare) - 2010 // 'Are You There?' - on album '60x60 Burgundy Mix (2010) - Vox Novus Label'Face Each Aged Ache' - Ipbo label 2013 // 'Cabbage Heads' - Ipbo label 2013 // '3 Plain Pieces' on album 'Dream Rotation, British Contemporary Piano Works' (Natalie Bleicher) - 2014 // Accompanied Readings Vol. 1 - Ipbo label 2015 // 'Four Minutes - Four Daydreams' on album 'Open Score' (London Sinfonietta) - NMC label 2016 // 'It May Have Been: The Piano Works of Paul Burnell' (James Bacon) - Ipbo label 2016 // 'Acute Suites' - Ipbo label 2017 // Accompanied Readings Vol.2 - Ipbo label 2018 // 'Griff Said Ruff' - Ipbo label 2019 // 'Reflections on a Haunted House' - Ipbo label 2021 // 'So (Not) to Speak' - Ipbo label 2023 // 'Woodland So Brightly' - Ipbo label 2024
FIRST PERFORMANCES
Oboe Sonatina - Paul Burnell (oboe), Jeremy Davis (piano) 1994 // Migration - Eltham flute quartet 1995 // From Blake's 'Milton' - London CoMA Ensemble 1996 // Two Postcards, One View - Black Dyke Mills Brass Band 1996 // On The Ice - Paul Burnell (oboe), Patsy Moore (piano) 1997 // Unicycle I - London Chamber Group 1997 // The Weird Sisters - London Chamber Group 1997 // A Motion and a Spirit - Paul Ayres (organ) 1998 // Unicycle 2 - London Chamber Group and Morley College Opera members 1998 // Pressure Cooking - Cornelius Cardew Ensemble 1998 // Ophelia's Last Song - Sarah Marrion 1998 // 3 Oboes Dancing - Pipers 3 (oboe trio) 1998 // Slight of Hand - J Owens & J Egan (electronic keyboard) Wade Deacon High School 1999 // Vitus - Jeanette Hajncl (recorder ,tape, piano) 2000 // Just Keep It To Yourself - South West CoMA Ensemble (piano trio) 2000 // Speak Your Mind - Compromise-Barter - Trust - London CoMA Ensemble (wind quintet) - 2000 // Is That You? (or is it just me?) - Paul Burnell (oboe and tape) - 2000 // Four Minutes-Four Daydreams - CoMA Ensemble - 2000 // All the Same - CoMA Ensemble 2001 // Sul - Craig Hultgren 2001// Open Wide - Chris Brannick 2002 // Just Before Dawn - Luca Miti 2002 // The Secret Life of Oodle-Oodle - London Chamber Group Clarinet Quartet 2002 // Bargello - East London Late Starters Orchestra 2003 // Gallant - Forum Wind Quintet 2003 // Two Pieces for String Quartet - Fourth Dimension String Quartet 2003 // Five Pieces for Wind Instruments - Southwark Consort of Winds 2003 // Aim Straight for Starlight - London CoMA Ensemble 2003 // Death and Taxes - Forum Sinfonietta 2004 // Wassail the Trees - Petrus Singers 2004 // Sin Song - Bath Festival Finale 2004 // 24 Steps - Phoenix Recorder Orchestra 2004 // Subside - COMA Recording Ensemble 2004 // Mad Amoeba, Hold Your Horses, Ant Acid - Brake Drum Assembly 2004 // Transform - Forum Sinfonietta 2005 // Leaving - CoMA Voices 2005 // Voices Losing Reality - Frances M Lynch (soprano) 2005 // Dreamer Carol - Forum London Chamber Symphony 2005 // Santoor Slide - Burnell-Hunt Duo 2006 // I, Cog - Jane Chapman 2006 // Open Wide (percussion quartet version) - ensemblebash 2006 // The Dreaminess of the 1500 Metres Runner - FourSight 2006 // Ember Kindle - Duo Ricercare 2006 // 'Radio Concert' - Forum London Composers Group 2006 // Wolfgang Automaton Number 1 - Decadanse 2006 // 'Flax Field Dew' - Ensemble ThingNY 2007 // 'And She Flew' - Chris Brannick 2007 // 'Pascal's Carriage' - Chris Brannick 2007 // 'Paralysed as the Tide Comes In - Paul Burnell 2007 // 'What Bliss' (aka 'Happy Ending') - Paul Burnell 2007 // 'Spit it Out' - Paul Burnell 2007 // 'The Sense of a Place Will Remain' - Inchcolm New Music Ensemble - 2007 // 'Worm-eaten' - Paul Ayres 2007 // 'Many-coloured glass' - Phyllis Chen 2008 // 'Syrinx before Pan and Narcissus' - Paul Burnell 2008 // 'I Soh Doh Know Nothing' - Paul Burnell 2008 // '3 Pieces for Strings' - Yorkshire Late Starters Strings 2008 // 'Rest' - CoMA London Ensemble 2008 // One Way or Another -Thomas Jäderlund (saxophone) 2008 // 'Wha-do-ya mean?' - Paul Burnell 2008 // 'Let's Get You Zipped Up' - Paul Burnell 2008 // 'The Feynman Point' - Chris Brannick 2008 // 'Clouden' - Paul Burnell, Margaret Cameron, Julian Stocker - 2009 // 'Gutter Rat' - the Red Note Ensemble 2009 // '3 Plain Pieces' - Natalie Bleicher 2009 // 'She Must Be Ahead of the Competition' - the Red Note Ensemble 2009 // 'Psst' - Catherine Ring 2009 // 'Shredder' - Contakt Ensemble 2009 // 'Through the Frosted Window Darkly' - the Red Note Ensemble 2009 // 'Breathing Together' - unknown pianist 2009 // 'Bauble' - thingNY 2009 // 'The Nightingale March-Past' - Chris Brannick 2009 // 'Mathematician Suite' - Chris Brannick 2010 // 'Glassblowing' - Bella Tromba 2010 // 'My Sister Turned into a Plastic Bag' - Paul Burnell 2010 // 'Canvassed' Contakt Ensemble 2010 // 'Cocooned' - Contakt Ensemble 2010 // 'Deux' - Decadanse 2010 // 'High Water, Low Water' - thingNY 2011 // 'Rotas' - Contakt Ensemble 2011 //'Deux' - Decadanse 2011 //'Two Squeaky Boots in the Crescent' - 2011 // 'Standard Slowly Squared' - Contakt Ensemble 2011 // 'Lullaby - Last Breath' - Paul Burnell 2011 // Herculean Fanfare - Bespoke Brass 2011 // 'This is not a rehearsal' - Contakt Ensemble 2012 // 'Take Flight' - Contakt Ensemble 2012 // '2 Ping' - CoMA Limerick Ensemble 2012 // 'Survey' - Paul Burnell 2012 // 'In One Breath' - Paul Burnell 2012 // 'Procession to the Assembly' - ThingNY2012 // 'Girl With Binoculars' - FourSight 2013 // 'Sound Meditations' - Closet Music Project 2013 // "An Even Dustier Version of Seul a la Maison' - Contakt Ensemble 2013 // "Rhombidodecadodecahedron" - Chris Brannick 2013 // 'In the Margins' - The Stanesby Players 2014 // 'Come here cold bodies... let's get you zipped up... tight' - Brake Drum Assembly 2014 // '3 Opaques' - Contakt Ensemble 2014 // 'There's a Tree Filled with Wings' - CoMA Singers 2014 // 'An Accompanied Reading from Jonathan Harker's Journal from 'Dracula'' - Contakt Ensemble 2015 // 'Little Era Ending Songs' - Sara Stowe & Chris Brannick 2015 // 'Filigrees' - Sara Minelli & Chris Brannick 2016 // 'Five Light Pieces' - The Duruflé Trio 2016 // 'Highlighting' from 'Acute Suite No. 1' - CoMA London Ensemble 2018 // 'Robot Picking Blackb'ries' - Irantzu Agirre Arrizubieta 2018 // 'A Birthday' - Leatherhead Choral Society 2018 // 'The Count of Multiple Choices' - East London Community Band: Premier Band 2019 // 'The Troubles of an Automaton, or The Table and the Chair - Jordan Wright Murray 2019 // 'Suffer a Sea Change' and 'Pitch Black' - CoMA East Midlands Ensemble 2019 // 'Three Exercises' - Hannah Cresswell & Constance Chow 2019 // 'Resolve' Emily Mehigh (YouTube) 2020. // 'The Piano Organ, an Accompanied Reading' - Karen Burnell (Zoom) 2020 // 'It May Have Been' - Constance Chow 2021 // 'December Air' - CoMA Singers 2022 // 'So (Not) T0 Speak' - CoMA Singers 2022
TUTORING
Northern Recorder Course - April 2010; Northern Recorder Course - April 2011; CoMA Summer School - July 2011; Cheltenham Recorder Festival - August 2011; Recorders@plymouth - January 2012; Eight Foot Recorder Course - July 2012; Cheltenham Recorder Festival - August 2012