CMRC Seminar: Kirsty Devaney (composer, educator and researcher)

Kirsty Devaney

Kirsty Devaney is a Birmingham based composer. She graduated from Birmingham Conservatoire in 2013 with a BMus(Hons) in composition having studied with Joe Cutler, Howard Skempton and Ed Bennett. Now working as a professional composer and practitioner she is passionate and committed about promoting creative music making as something we all have the capacity to do. Her composing work ranges from composing for professional contemporary music ensembles across Europe, for amateur and youth ensembles, to working with film and electronics. Her music has been aired on Radio 3 and in 2011, aged 20, she was shortlisted for a British Composer award for her work for CoMA London.

As a music practitioner Kirsty has worked with organisations including Town Hall Symphony Hall, Stratford-upon-Avon Literary Festival, and Birmingham Contemporary Music Group. In 2013 Kirsty founded the ‘Young Composers Project’, which has since worked with over 200 young people and trained local emerging composers to work in educational settings. Kirsty also works as an education consultant with Music Education Solutions delivering CPD to primary and secondary teachers across the UK. She is currently completing her PhD at Birmingham City University investigating the assessment of composing in schools and was recently awarded the prestigious Anna Craft Award for research into ‘Creativity in Education’ from the British Education Research Association.