Andrew Downes (20 August 1950 – 2 January 2023) was a British classical composer. He was head of the School of Composition and Creative Studies at Birmingham Conservatoire from 1992 until 2005. His compositions have been performed and broadcast internationally.
Early life
Downes was born in Handsworth, Birmingham. He attended St. John's College, Cambridge, on a scholarship, receiving his master's degree in composition. at the Royal College of Music. He kept working as a freelance composer. and 4, BBC TV, France Musique, Italian TV, Austrian Radio, Dutch Radio, and his Centenary Fire Dances were first performed for the City of Birmingham's Centenary Festival of Fireworks and Music. song cycles for Sarah Walker and the tenor John Mitchinson broadcast on BBC Radio 3, and anthems for the BBC 4 Daily Service. He wrote Mela Kamavardhani for Indo-Jazz Fusions musicians in Calcutta, Delhi, and Bombay, and Fanfare for Madam Speaker for the installation of Betty Boothroyd MP as Chancellor of the Open University in 1994. which was premiered at the Symphony Hall, Birmingham, by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and Suite for Brass Sextet written for the Czech Philharmonic Brass Sextet. He died from complications from ankylosing spondylitis; he suffered an accident in 2009 which led to permanent paraplegia.
Legacy
A performance prize in his name, and supported by his family, was begun by Birmingham Conservatoire during his lifetime.