Southampton Chair of Composition, Professor Michael Finnissy, has been awarded two honours at the British Composer Awards 2015.
Professor Finnissy won both the Liturgical and Solo/Duo categories during ceremonies held at the British Film Institute in London.
Created by the British Academy of Composers and Songwriters, Composers and Authors, the Awards promote the art of composition, recoginising the creative talent of composers and sound artists and bringing their music to a wider audience.
Professor Finnissy won the Liturgical Award for his composition John the Baptist and received the Solo/Duo Award with his Beat Generation Ballads.
John the Baptist, for voice and organ, was commissioned by Saint John’s College Cambridge for Advent 2014. Beat Generation Ballads, for solo piano, was commissioned (with funds from the Britten-Pears Foundation) for a programme in honour of American composer Christian Wolff’s 80th birthday.
This marks the second time in his career that Professor Finnissy has brought home two British Composer Awards in the same year after winning the Instrumental Solo or Duo and Making Music Awards in 2005.
He was also nominated in 2010 for the Vocal Award.