Michael Nyman was born in London on March 23, 1944 and studied at the Royal Academy of Music (of which he has recently been made a Fellow) and at King's College London. His musical career has been wide and varied, including collecting folk music in Romania, editing baroque and new music, writing an opera libretto (for Birtwhistle's Down by the Greenwoodside), music criticism (1968-1978), performing and lecturing. His book "Experimental Music -- Cage and Beyond" (1974) is now a classic text on music composed after 1945. Since 1977, Michael Nyman has composed for his ensemble the Michael Nyman Band, as well as for a wide range of media and artists internationally. His catalogue includes orchestral, chamber, vocal and chamber works, operas (The Man Who Mistook His Wife For a Hat is constantly in production worldwide) and music for dance and television. His music for film includes 18 soundtracks for Peter Greenaway (notably The Draughtsman's Contract; The Cook, the Thief, His Wife and Her Lover and Prospero's Books). His most recent work is the score for the filmCarrington. A significant number of international festivals celebrated his 50th birthday by featuring his music at the Bath, Harrogate, Cheltenham, Norfolk & Norwich and Greenwich Festivals in the UK; and the Tokyo Summer Festival, Helsinki Festival and the Netherlands' Festival Nieuwe Muziek. Nyman's music is frequently recorded on the Decca/Argo labels. These include String Quartets Nos. 1-3, Prospero's Books, The Michael Nyman Songbook (with Uta Lemper), The Essential Michael Nyman Band and The Piano Concerto.

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