(b. 24 February 1964, London).
British composer of mostly stage and chamber works that have been performed in Europe and elsewhere.
Mr. Arden studied at City University London from 1984–87, where he earned his BSc. He then studied composition there from 1988–96 and earned his PhD. He also studied composition at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London in 1987–88 and there received a certificate.
Among his honours is the Creative Dance Artists Trust Scholarship (1995, to attend a course for choreographers and composers). He has received commissions from BAC/the National Theatre, BBC Radio 3, the Colourscape Festival/Arts Council England, the theatre company Complicite, Rosalie Coopman, the Diamond Dance Company, Stephen and Annabel Jeffries, mezzo-soprano Loré Lixenberg, the London Brass Ensemble, percussionist Alonzo Mendoza, Northern Arts, Operate, the Opera Transatlantica Cambridge Festival of Opera and Music Theatre, the Schrek Ensemble, the Society for the Promotion of New Music in London/Bath Festival, and the Sonic Arts Network. His music has been performed in Belgium, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Poland, the UK, the USA, and Venezuela.
He is also active in other positions. He worked as a conductor from 1988–91 and led performances of his own music and contemporary works by British composers. He has written extensively on the Schillinger System, including the book How to Use the Schillinger System of Musical Composition: A composition manual with exercises and examples (2005, Clock and Rose Press) and introductions to the revised editions of The Schillinger System of Musical Composition (2005, Clock and Rose Press), The Mathematical Basis of the Arts (2008, Clock and Rose Press) and Kaleidophone (2009, Clock and Rose Press).
He taught as Lecturer in Composition at Morley College in London from 1992–2003 and taught composition and studio-based composition at the Royal College of Music in London from 1993–2000. He has taught aural perception, composition, musicianship, and the psychology of music at the University of Hertfordshire since 2003, where he founded the distance-learning school The Schillinger School of Music in 2005 and where he established a distance-learning course on the Schillinger System in 2009. Moreover, he has worked on music-education projects for children since 2002, including a collaboration with the City of London Sinfonia in 2003.
In addition to the works listed below, he has written music for commercials, films and TV. He has also made arrangements of popular music.
COMPLETE LIST OF WORKS
STAGE:
Der Besuch der alten Dame (incidental music, play by Friedrich Dürrenmatt), 1991
The Duchess of Malfi (incidental music, play by John Webster), 1993
L'Impresario delle Smirne (incidental music, play by Carlo Goldoni), 1994
Mirandolina (incidental music, play by Carlo Goldoni), 1994
Bear, dancer, fixed media, 1994
Et dukkehjem – A Doll's House (incidental music, play by Henrik Ibsen), 1995
Crazy Days (music-theatre work), 1996
Baroque Concerto (music-theatre work, after Alejo Carpentier), 1997 (also version as Concierto Barroco, 1998)
Seven Sisters (multimedia opera), 1997
Out of Here (ballet), 1997–98
Victory over the Sun (multimedia opera, libretto by the composer, after Velimir Khlebnikov), 1999
Idiot (incidental music, play by Fyodor Dostoyevsky), 1999
Anatol (incidental music, play by Arthur Schnitzler), 2001
Out of the blue (ballet), 2001
The Recruiting Officer (incidental music, play by George Farquhar), 2003
The Resurrection (incidental music, play by William Butler Yeats), 2003
The Simple Sword of Truth (opera), 2003
Columbia (opera), 2004
ORCHESTRAL:
Trilogy, 1995
Ritually Bathed, small orchestra, 1998
CHAMBER MUSIC:
Vision and Prayer, bass clarinet, violin, cello, marimba, 1992
Moon Shaman, bass clarinet, fixed media, 1992
Rêve de l'Orb, flute, clarinet, harp, string quartet, 1993
Make Night Day, bass clarinet, violin, fixed media, 1993
Bayo's Way, tuba, 9 brass, live electronics, 1993
Starry Messenger, string quartet, 1999
Star King of Day, percussion, 2001
When I begin to sing, percussion, 2002–03
Lumina, cello, piano, 2010
Sleeping Water, clarinet, viola, piano, 2011
Im Freygish, string quartet, 2018
CHORAL:
The Exeter Riddles, mixed chorus, violin, fixed media, 2001
Lotus Symphony, mixed speaking chorus, small orchestra, 2015
VOCAL:
Riddle No. 1, alto, fixed media, 1992
PIANO:
Infinite Sets and Double Binds, 2000
MULTIMEDIA:
Dream One, fixed media, animation (by Rebecca Price), 1994
Bandstand (sound installation), fixed media, sculpture (by Willow Winston), 1995
Colour (performance in a maze environment), mixed chorus, ensemble, fixed media, 2002
Bacu Kunst Fairy Dog (performance), tuba, samplers (1 player), live electronics, 2003
RADIO PRODUCTION:
When the Bough Breaks, 2008