Daniel Kidane

{{Short description|British composer (born 1986)}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}{{Use British English|date=April 2025}}

File:Daniel Kidane - Conway Hall Sunday Concerts (cropped).jpg

Daniel Kidane (born 1986) is a British composer. His piece "Woke" opened the last night of the 2019 Proms.{{cite news |last1=Kidane |first1=Daniel |title=Why, this year, Last Night of the Proms will be woke |url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/sep/14/last-night-proms-woke-classical-music |access-date=28 January 2021 |work=The Guardian |date=14 September 2019 |language=en}}{{cite news |last1=Dixon |first1=Gavin |title=Last Night of the Proms, review: bisexual pride and diversity |url=https://inews.co.uk/culture/last-night-of-the-proms-review-bisexual-rainbow-flag-338951 |access-date=28 January 2021 |work=inews.co.uk |date=15 September 2019 |language=en}}

In 2016 his "Sirens" was one of a group of five short works commissioned by the BBC Philharmonic to commemorate the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death, and performed in the Bridgewater Hall. The Guardian's reviewer described it as a "propulsive, eclectic piece" which "soaked up influences of jungle, dubstep and R&B sampled from a trawl through the city after dark.{{cite news |last1=Hickling |first1=Alfred |title=BBC Philharmonic/Gourlay review – inventive, eclectic and ill-coordinated |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2016/apr/25/bbc-philharmonic-andrew-gourlay-review-shakespeare |access-date=28 January 2021 |work=The Guardian |date=25 April 2016 |language=en}} "His 2017 work "Zulu" was performed by the Royal Scottish National Orchestra.{{cite web |last1=Thompson |first1=Simon |title=Gomez steps in late for Russian Revolution programme |url=https://bachtrack.com/review-gomez-sunwoo-rsno-edinburgh-november-2017 |website=bachtrack.com |access-date=28 January 2021 |language=en |date=11 November 2017}}{{cite web |title=Zulu |url=https://www.rsno.org.uk/zulu/ |website=www.rsno.org.uk |publisher=Royal Scottish National Orchestra |access-date=28 January 2021 |archive-date=8 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210208134715/https://www.rsno.org.uk/zulu/ |url-status=dead }} His "Dream Song" was premiered at the Queen Elizabeth Hall by the Chineke! Orchestra on the re-opening of the hall in 2018 and the 50th anniversary of the funeral of Martin Luther King Jr., and includes words from his "I Have a Dream" speech.{{cite news |last1=Ashley |first1=Tim |title=Chineke!/Parnther review – exhilarating reopening for the QEH |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2018/apr/10/chineke-parnther-queen-elizabeth-hall-reopening |access-date=28 January 2021 |work=The Guardian |date=10 April 2018 |language=en}}{{cite web |title=Daniel Kidane's 'Dream Song' is premiered by Chineke! at the reopening of the Queen Elizabeth Hall |url=http://www.rayfieldallied.com/news/2018/chineke-performs-world-premiere-of-daniel-kidanes-dream-song-at-the-queen-elizabeth-hall |website=Rayfield Allied |access-date=28 January 2021 |date=10 April 2018 |archive-date=6 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181206054720/http://www.rayfieldallied.com/news/2018/chineke-performs-world-premiere-of-daniel-kidanes-dream-song-at-the-queen-elizabeth-hall |url-status=dead }} The concert was broadcast by BBC Radio 3.{{cite web |title=Chineke! Orchestra play Britten, Beethoven, Daniel Kidane |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b09yh2jf |website=Radio 3 in Concert |publisher=BBC Radio 3 |access-date=28 January 2021}} The orchestra later recorded the work on their album Spark Catchers.{{cite news |last1=Maddocks |first1=Fiona |title=Home Listening: Rhian Samuel, Chineke! Orchestra and Beethoven Unleashed |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2020/jan/19/rhian-samuel-clytemnestra-ruby-hughes-review-chineke-spark-catchers-beethoven-1808-cardiff |access-date=28 January 2021 |work=The Guardian |date=19 January 2020 |language=en}}

In 2020 he was commissioned by Huddersfield Choral Society to write "We'll Sing", with words by Simon Armitage, who worked from a list of words sent by choir members to reflect their experience of lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic. This was released on a music video in autumn 2020.{{cite web |title=About the Commissions |url=https://wellsing.huddersfieldchoral.com/about-the-commissions |website=We'll Sing |publisher=Huddersfield Choral Society |access-date=28 January 2021}}{{cite web |last1=Parr |first1=Freya |title=Poet Laureate Simon Armitage to write lyrics to music set by Cheryl Frances-Hoad and Daniel Kidane in response to COVID-19 |url=https://www.classical-music.com/news/poet-laureate-simon-armitage-to-write-lyrics-to-music-set-by-cheryl-frances-hoad-and-daniel-kidane-in-response-to-covid-19/ |website=Classical Music |access-date=28 January 2021 |language=en |date=9 October 2020}}

In 2022 Kidane joined the Schott Music publishing company.{{cite web |title=Daniel Kidane joins Schott Music publishing |url=https://www.rayfieldallied.com/news/2022/daniel-kidane-joins-schott-music-publishing |website=Rayfield Allied |access-date=13 December 2022 |date=12 December 2022}}