Biography

MARTIN DALBY was born in Aberdeen in 1942. He was educated at Aberdeen Grammar School and in 1960 won a Foundation Scholarship to the Royal College of Music in London where he studied composition with Herbert Howells and viola with Frederick Riddle. In 1963 the Octavia Prize and a Sir James Caird Travelling Scholarship enabled him to spend two years in Italy where besides composing he played the viola with a small Italian Chamber Orchestra. With this orchestra he toured widely in Europe and North Africa. In 1965 he was appointed as a music producer to the BBC’s newly formed Music Programme (later to be Radio 3). In 1971 he became the Cramb Research Fellow in Composition at the University of Glasgow and in 1972 returned to the BBC as Head of Music, Scotland, where he began the development of the public profile of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, both in Great Britain and abroad. In 1991 he relinquished this post in order to pursue a more creative role in BBC Scotland. In 1993 Dalby retired from the BBC to compose full time.

He has written a large amount of music: for orchestra, for chorus, for brass and wind bands, for the Church, for film, radio and television, many songs and song cycles, and chamber music ranging from duos and trios to octets and nonets. Most of it was commissioned: from festivals such as Edinburgh, Cheltenham, Cardiff, Orkney and Peterborough, or from orchestras and ensembles. It has been performed widely throughout the world notably at such festivals as the Warsaw Autumn and the Henry Wood Proms in London for which in 1991 he wrote The Mary Bean for the Royal Scottish National Orchestra. This was his fourth performance at the Proms. Work for his home city occupied him after that. First, The White Maa for the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, music to celebrate 200 years of Union Street in Aberdeen and subsequently a String Quartet to celebrate 500 years of Aberdeen University. In 1998 he composed his third Piano Sonata for Peter Seivewright and a year later, a short piece for the National Youth String Orchestra of Scotland, The First Thursday in May, welcoming the return of a Government in Scotland. At this time he was reliving his fascination with the music of the great Scots fiddler and composer, J. Scott Skinner, creating his own five movement orchestral suite, A Wheen in Doric, from it. The act of “rebuilding” Skinner’s tender and characteristically Scottish music was born of devotion not of destruction. He later turned his attention to writing vocal music both for children and adults. This included a set of songs for voice and piano in memory of one of his Labradors, A Little Songbook for Tessa. Sunbeam for Sheba (2002) was likewise a song in memory of a labrador — Tessa’s mother. A composer of great versatility, at the same time he completed a substantial work for eight double basses and a work for solo trumpet, Lang Johnnie More: an essay with trumpet mutes.

Dalby had a profound interest in Scotland: together with John Purser, they made an extensive and comprehensive series for BBC Radio Scotland called Scotland’s Music. This won them a coveted Sony Award. With colleagues, he also won a Gramophone award for their production of the CD of James MacMillan’s The Confession of Isobel Gowdie. His composing peers awarded him a “Gold Badge” in 1999. Martin was a hill walker; he was interested in railways and literature; he was a bird watcher and he also held a Private Pilot’s Licence.

Always concerned with the interests of his fellow composers, Dalby helped in forming and running several chamber groups in Scotland. He was Chairman of the Composers’ Guild of Great Britain from 1995 to 1998 and was a founding director of both the British Academy of Composers and Songwriters and British Music Rights. His membership of the BAC&S Concert Executive Committee continued from its start until 2009. He was also Warden of the Incorporated Society of Musicians’ Performers and Composers Section in 2001 and 2002.

A founding member of the Scottish Music Information Centre, now the Scottish Music Centre, sources for much of Martin Dalby’s music can be found on their website.