THOMAS SIMAKU  

The Albanian-born British composer Thomas Simaku graduated from Tirana Conservatory and gained a doctorate in Composition at the University of York (1991-95), where he studied with David Blake. He was the 1996 Leonard Bernstein Fellow in Composition at Tanglewood, studying with Bernard Rands, and a fellow at the Composers’ Workshop at California State University with Brian Ferneyhough. Simaku’s music has been reaching audiences all over Europe and the United States for over a decade, and it has been awarded a host of accolades for its highly expressive qualities and its unique blend of drama, intensity and modernism. Prestigious awards include, among others, the 1993 Lionel Robbins Scholarship (Simaku was the only candidate in the United Kingdom to win the award that year), the Serocki International Prize and the Lutosławski Award. Simaku is a lecturer in composition at the University of York.