Amy Crankshaw
Amy Crankshaw (b.1991) is a South African composer, pianist and French horn player born in Port Elizabeth and based in London (UK). She is currently studying the MA in Opera Making and Writing at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Amy is grateful to the Boltini Trust, whose generous support has made it possible for her to study at the Guildhall School.
Earlier this year, Amy was selected by the Académie Du Festival D’Aix for the "Opera Creation Workshop" at the International Opera Festival in Aix-en-Provence, France, under the direction of composer Pascal Dusapin.
In 2014, Amy was awarded the runner-up prize in the South African Music Rights Organisation’s prestigious Overseas Scholarship Competition for Composers. Amy studied music at the South African College of Music (University of Cape Town) and in 2015 she graduated with her Masters Degree in Composition under Prof. Hendrik Hofmeyr.
Over the course of her studies, Amy received several awards for her work including the Myra Chapman Undergraduate Scholarship, the Stephanie Garnett Memorial Prize, the Meyer Levinson Prize, the Priaulx Rainier Prize and the EE Coutts Memorial Scholarship. She received support for her studies from The Oppenheimer Memorial Trust, the South African Music Rights Organisation, and the National Research Foundation Innovation Scholarship. Amy is extremely grateful to all those who have supported her work and her studies.
Amy’s piano trio From the Valley of Desolation is featured in Volume 12 (second issue) of The Journal of the Musical Arts in Africa, published in December 2015.
Her works have been performed throughout South Africa, including premieres by the South African National Youth Orchestra, The Avanti Duo, Epoch String Quartet, and Biblioteek Productions at the Grahamstown National Arts Festival. As the winner of the South African College of Music's composition competition for a new orchestral work, Amy’s Dance in the Owl House was premiered in 2014 by the University of Cape Town Symphony Orchestra.
Amy was composer-in-residence with the London City Orchestra in their 2016 summer term. For the 2017 Crouch End Festival, she curated and produced IMMERSION, her own music event that combined a selection of her new chamber music with contemporary artworks, carefully crafted food, and immersive audience experiences. Amy is currently engaged with XOGA to write music for their new chamber opera, The Irish Astrologer, to be premiered in 2020.
Earlier this year, Amy was selected by the Académie Du Festival D’Aix for the "Opera Creation Workshop" at the International Opera Festival in Aix-en-Provence, France, under the direction of composer Pascal Dusapin.
In 2014, Amy was awarded the runner-up prize in the South African Music Rights Organisation’s prestigious Overseas Scholarship Competition for Composers. Amy studied music at the South African College of Music (University of Cape Town) and in 2015 she graduated with her Masters Degree in Composition under Prof. Hendrik Hofmeyr.
Over the course of her studies, Amy received several awards for her work including the Myra Chapman Undergraduate Scholarship, the Stephanie Garnett Memorial Prize, the Meyer Levinson Prize, the Priaulx Rainier Prize and the EE Coutts Memorial Scholarship. She received support for her studies from The Oppenheimer Memorial Trust, the South African Music Rights Organisation, and the National Research Foundation Innovation Scholarship. Amy is extremely grateful to all those who have supported her work and her studies.
Amy’s piano trio From the Valley of Desolation is featured in Volume 12 (second issue) of The Journal of the Musical Arts in Africa, published in December 2015.
Her works have been performed throughout South Africa, including premieres by the South African National Youth Orchestra, The Avanti Duo, Epoch String Quartet, and Biblioteek Productions at the Grahamstown National Arts Festival. As the winner of the South African College of Music's composition competition for a new orchestral work, Amy’s Dance in the Owl House was premiered in 2014 by the University of Cape Town Symphony Orchestra.
Amy was composer-in-residence with the London City Orchestra in their 2016 summer term. For the 2017 Crouch End Festival, she curated and produced IMMERSION, her own music event that combined a selection of her new chamber music with contemporary artworks, carefully crafted food, and immersive audience experiences. Amy is currently engaged with XOGA to write music for their new chamber opera, The Irish Astrologer, to be premiered in 2020.
