“His music is truly original, his scores are little miracles.”
(Judith Weir, Master of the King’s Music)

“One of the most poetic composers working in the UK today.”
(Bath International Festival)

“Unpretentious, full of delight and wonder, funny and beautiful.”
(Richard Benjafiled, Head of Wind/Percussion, Guildhall School of Music and Drama)

Peter McGarr (b.1953, Manchester UK) is influenced by the landscape and changing culture of Northern England. His music inhabits a world of seasonal rituals, regional myth and historical/personal memories. He follows in a long tradition of artists and poets who have interpreted this landscape.

“An epic and amazing piece.”
(Joanna MacGregor, ‘Eleven Nights with Glenn Gould’)

“His music inhabits a unique, delicate sound world.”
(BBC Radio 3)

Performances and commissions feature from many of the world’s leading performers and festivals including BBC Proms, Ensemble Bash, Joanna MacGregor, Brodsky Quartet and the Glastonbury, Huddersfield, Bath, Spitalfields and Edinburgh International Festivals.

“Immense and fabulous.”
(Aled Jones, 40-part Motet, ‘Lindisfarne Lovesong’)

“Intricate tonal lines brought the whole piece into a choral tour de force.”
(Edinburgh Evening News)

“His music is very, very unusual and individual. I’ve never heard anything like it.”
(The late Sir Peter Maxwell Davies)

He was born in Openshaw, Manchester and studied Music and Dance at Mather College (now part of Manchester University). He is self-taught in composition and for several years he taught steel pan, achieving the Outstanding Performance Award from Music for Youth for his steel band, Orchestral Steel.

Awards

• British Composer Award
• George Butterworth Award (Society for Promotion of New Music)
• Music Teacher of the Year Award
• Outstanding Performance Award  (Music for Youth)