Sir Harrison Birtwistle United Kingdom
Biography
Harrison Birtwistle is one of the world's foremost living composers. Born Accrington, 1934, he studied Clarinet and Composition at the Royal Manchester College of Music from 1953 where, along with fellow students Peter Maxwell Davies, Alexander Goehr, John Ogdon and Elgar Howarth, he formed the New Music Manchester group which was dedicated to performing avant-garde and contemporary compositions. While using mostly conventional instrumental resources