Biography

Glen Downie is an Aotearoa New Zealand composer, currently embarking on a PhD in composition at the University of Cambridge with Jeremy Thurlow on a Cambridge Trust International Scholarship. 

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He has worked with orchestras including the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, the Brussels Philharmonic, The NZSO, The Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra, Orchestra Wellington and held the position of composer in residence for the NZSO National Youth Orchestra in 2019, culminating in Light Speckled Droplet for orchestra and chorus, conducted by James Judd.

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He has received commissions from Chamber Music New Zealand, Stroma, Ghost Trio and was the 2022 recipient of the SOUNZ Sistema commission for Sistema Youth Orchestra and Professional Orchestra.

Originally based in Wellington, he co-directed the SMP Ensemble from 2014-2023 and gained a Master of Musical Arts from Te Kōkī New Zealand School of Music, where he studied under Michael Norris and Dugal McKinnon. Past teachers have included John Psathas, Kenneth Young and Gao Ping.

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Also a keen free improviser on saxophone, he has played with Jeff Henderson, Pyramid Lake (an improvising quartet with Rob Thorne, Simon Eastwood and Dexter Stanley-Tauvao) and enjoys creating scenarios for medium-large groups of improvisers.