Sally Beamish

Sarah Frances Beamish (born 26 August 1956) is a British composer and violist. Her works include chamber, vocal, choral and orchestral music. She has also worked in theatre, film and television, as well as composing for children and for her local community. Early life and education Sarah Frances Beamish was born on 26 August 1956 in London, to William Anthony Alten Beamish and Ursula Mary Beamish (née Snow). She attended Camden School for Girls and played in the National Youth Orchestra. She studied viola at the Royal Northern College of Music, where she received composition lessons from Anthony Gilbert and Lennox Berkeley. She later studied in Germany at the Hochschule für Musik Detmold, with the Italian violist Bruno Giuranna. Career As a violist in the Raphael Ensemble, she recorded four discs of string sextets. However she made her mark as a composer, particularly after moving to Scotland. She has written a large amount of music for orchestra, including two symphonies and several concertos (for violin, viola, cello, oboe, saxophone, saxophone quartet, trumpet, percussion, flute and accordion), chamber and instrumental music, film scores, theatre music, and music for amateurs. I