About Peter McAleer

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Contemporary British composer. I studied with Bernard Stevens at The Royal College of Music London, and with both Peter Dickinson & Edward Gregson at Goldsmiths' College London. Performances of my works have been given by Double Image, the Orlando Consort, the Goldberg Ensemble, The Endymion Ensemble, the BBC Singers - to critical acclaim - and also broadcast on BBC Radio 3:

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The most distinguished contribution was Peter McAleer's Doorkeeper, which blends spirituals with overlapping phrases reminiscent of Tallis - Time Ashley, the Guardian

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I particularly liked the exultant blaze of Peter McAleer's Doorkeeper - Geoff Brown, the Times

 

However, In the 1990s, my music was already undergoing a gradual but radical change. Like many dissatisfied composers of the time I needed space to find a way to re-embrace styles, idioms and gestures from past traditions into my own music and on my own terms. This meant cutting myself off from the public arena to find my true voice. The result was life-changing, giving me new confidence in my work and more license to express freely, unhindered by expectations I felt had been placed on me. You can hear the result of this journey if you compare Pattern Sonata (1994) to Roaring Meg (2019).

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I am currently writing orchestral music like Made From Dust (2022), and the occasional choral work - see When We Awake (2020)