Joshua Brown
Composer
Joshua Brown (born 1989) is a composer from
Rossendale in the North West of England.
Joshua is a passionate educator and has taught music in primary and secondary schools, as well as junior conservatoire and guest lectures in conservatoires in the UK and in Europe. He has led educational workshops for the RNCM Pathfinders scheme, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra's In Harmony scheme, and the London Philharmonic Orchestra Junior Artists scheme (all of which support young musicians from disadvantaged backgrounds). Since 2021 he has held the position of Lecturer in Composition at the University of Manchester.
He studied with Professor Philip Grange, leading British composer and student of both Sir Peter Maxwell Davies and Sir Harrison Birtwistle. It was under Grange's supervision that he completed his PhD in Composition at the University of Manchester in 2018, after which he was Artist in Residence at the John Rylands Research Institute from 2019 to 2020, composing music inspired by the work of Alan Turing, during which time he was mentored by Sir James Macmillan in a new work for the London Philharmonic Orchestra inspired by Turing's research. His music often explores the combination of mathematical concepts and freedom for musicians - this dichotomy of precision processes while composing, alongside elements of chance in performances, embraces the unique qualities individual musicians bring to a piece of music, so that each composition feels like a premiere every time it is played.
Joshua Brown's music is performed widely in the UK and internationally by leading ensembles and soloists. Collaborations have included working with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, London Sinfonietta, Quatuor Danel, Martynas Levickis and MikroOrkestra, Alice Allen, Jacob Heringman, Clare Wilkinson, John Potter, Susanna Pell, Jackie Shave and Red Note Ensemble, Psappha, Natrio Ensemble, Charlotte Trepess, Vytautas Oskinis, Cuarteto Cromano, Pietro Roffi, Manchester Chamber Choir, and Mercury Strings.
In 2022 he was involved with the Sound and Music/Making Music Adopt a Music Creator scheme, partnered with Glasgow Orchestral Society. This partnership with a community orchestra has continued and led to multiple new works, premieres, and recordings, including a BBC Radio 3 broadcast in 2023, and a new Cello Concerto in 2024.
