Biography

Pete M. Wyer is a leading British composer who is known  for his orchestral scores, opera, choral, ballet and jazz works. Pete’s diverse portfolio includes scores for the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Juilliard Academy, Royal Opera House ROH2, English National Ballet and the London Symphony Orchestra, as well as original work for television and BBC Radio 3. He is the Associate Composer to the Orchestra Of The Swan.

He is strongly drawn to storytelling and to innovative approaches that enable combinations of improvisation with scored music, electronics, found sounds and site-specific works. This has led to the creation of albums such as Stories From The City At Night for Thirsty Ear Records, operas and operatic works such as Cremenville, Numinous City, Johnny’s Midnight Goggles, 57 Hours In The House Of Culture and many others.

Operatic Works

“…not only truly original but fantastically entertaining…spellbinding and often hilarious…the beguiling mix of spoken word and opera, with live cello accompaniment is a real triumph. It shouldn’t work, but it does. Brilliantly, too.”

MetroLife on Pete M Wyer’s Johnny’s Midnight Goggles.

Numinous City, presented by American Opera Projects. New York, November 2011. Photo by Michael Palma

Pete is developing a new opera: ‘Numinous City’ initially commissioned by Royal Opera House 2 (ROH2) and subsequently developed by American Opera Projects, New York, who presented it as work in progress at Rubin Museum of Art, Manhattan on November 16th 2011.

Pete’s works for voice include songs and settings of Lorca, Dante, Simic, Ungaretti and long time collaborator, post-beat poet Steve Dalachinsky. He is also developing an opera based on the Moscow theatre siege with playwright Bryony Lavery, director Phyllida Lloyd and artist John Keane.

Pete has conceived, written and composed a number of operatic works: Cremenville (Opera North, Resonance, 2006), Johnny’s Midnight Goggles, You Must Have This, Finkelstein’s Castle and the multi-media song cycle Adam’s Apple (developed for theatre in collaboration with cellist and singer, Matthew Sharp). Johnny’s Midnight Goggles, which was first performed by Matthew Sharp has now been by the National Theatre Studio as a fully scored work for 6 actor-singer-musicians.

“This is a totally engaging way of experiencing music….not just the visual and special elements of the work but the way in which the performers are treating music as a form of theatre, an expression of their own emotion………The lush romantic melancholy of Wyer’s score is ravishing and the two musicians perform it responding to each other like lovers”

Rogues and Vagabonds, London on SharpWire’s ‘Adam’s Apple’

Concert and performance works

‘One of the most extraordinary sessions we have ever had ’ Jez Nelson of the one hour Insomnia Poems for Jazz on 3, BBC Radio 3, March 2009 (performed as a live set at Pinewood studios).

Insomnia Poems, recorded for BBC Radio 3, broadcast March, 2009 and in December, 2009, as part of Radio Three’s ‘Best of Jazz on Three 2009’ – it brought together an eclectic band, who gave a semi-improvised performance from a ‘time-structured map’. 

Inspired by the poems of Steve Dalachinsky ‘Insomnia Poems’  broadcast on BBC Radio 3’s ‘Jazz On 3’ in March 2009 and subsequently rebroadcast for Jazz On 3’s ‘Best of 2009’ in December 2009. The work featured Steve Dalachinsky (Reader) Evelyne Beech (soprano) Chris Cundy (clarinets, saxes, stuffed loon) Michael Cross (laptop manipulations and vibes) Robert Perry (bass) and Pete M Wyer (guitar, piano, field recordings and manipulations) playing and improvising  from a ‘time-structured score’..

Pictured above right: a fragment of the ‘time-structured map’used for ‘Insomnia Poems’. 

Orchestral works by Pete M. Wyer include: The Far Shore, a ballet score, recorded by the London Symphony Orchestra in 2010, Listening To The Sky performed and recorded by the Orchestra of the Swan in 2010, Senbazuru, a modern dance score performed by the Juilliard Orchestra, New York in 2006 and May Peace Prevail On Earth, performed by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra with London Voices and Burntwood Girls Choir in 2003, at the Barbican, London.

Chelsea-Chelsea for 2 saxophones, string quartet, guitar, electronics and 2 readers was commissioned by the Juilliard School in New York and performed simultaneously live in New York and London in April 2005. The premiere performance was given at the Chelsea Gallery, New York, with a second performance at Jazz at Lincoln Centre – with a live London link coming from the 606 Club, Cheslea, London.

Other Concert Works include Somehow The Miracle for string orchestra (World Premiere, APAC Orchestra Festival, Beijing, October 2009) If I Had Known I Was Dreaming (Purcell Room, 2002, Evelyne Beech, soprano, Tippett String Quartet) An African Elegy (Purcell Room, 2003, Matthew Sharp, baritone, cello, Viv McLean, piano)  Songs From A Blazing City (Lawton String Trio, Warwick Arts Festival, 1996) Sospira (Alfar Duo, Cheltenham Festival 1998) and Two Bridges (Bath International Guitar Festival, 2003, Abigail James).

In his ongoing work with the Orchestra Of The Swan Pete has created a variety of exploratory works combining scored music with improvisation, electronics and found sounds, including settings inspired by Shakesperian sonnets (Sonnet CXXX for string quartet plays on this page of the website).

Ballet/Modern Dance

“Modern dance and ballet have been great teachers for me, pushing me to take new paths and try different approaches.” Pete M Wyer

Pete has collaborated with many choreographers, including Jessica Lang for the large-scale work Senbazuru, a ballet score with opera singers, commissioned for the centenary of Juilliard in 2006, which featured the dance division of Juilliard, the Juilliard orchestra, conducted by Andrea Quinn and four opera singers.

Spooky Action, a one-hour multimedia work by Miro Dance Theater (Philadelphia) choreographed by Amanda Miller with film by Tobin Rothlein (2009). Carol Brown’s large-scale installation in 2000 with Esther Rolinson Machine For Living (Corn Exchange, Brighton) and Flap for solo dancer with solo guitar (choreographed and performed by Sarah Warsop) at Queen Elizabeth Hall, London (2003).

Beginnings

Pete M. Wyer is a self-taught musician and composer who plays classical guitar and piano and is an occasional singer. He began musical life playing and touring internationally with rock and jazz bands in the 1980s and later giving solo classical guitar recitals. Many of his early works were songs or solos written for guitar (he is currently compiling a CD of his classical guitar pieces). Pete also worked as a music teacher (1992-7) and remains passionate about music in education.

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