Eric Sweeney (composer)
{{Short description|Irish composer and jazz pianist}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| honorific_prefix =
| name = Eric Sweeney
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| birth_date = {{Birth-date|15 July 1948}}
| birth_place = Dublin, Ireland
| origin = Dublin
| death_date = {{Death-date and age|21 July 2020|15 July 1948}}
| death_place = Waterford, Ireland
| genre = Classical, Minimalism
| occupation = composer, conductor, lecturer
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| years_active = late 1960s–2010
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|spouse=Sally Johnston
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Eric Sweeney (15 July 1948 – 21 July 2020) was an Irish composer.{{Cite web|url=https://superannrte.ie/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=7491:death-of-colleague-eric-sweeney-composer&catid=31&Itemid=104|title=Death of colleague Eric Sweeney ( Composer / Conductor)|website=superannrte.ie}} He was a member of Aosdána, an elite association of Irish artists.{{Cite news|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/people/eric-sweeney-obituary-composer-conductor-and-educator-1.4369530|title=Eric Sweeney obituary: Composer, conductor and educator|newspaper=The Irish Times}}
Early life
Eric Sweeney was born in Dublin in 1948. He studied in Ireland, England, Belgium and Italy, including at the Conservatorio Santa Cecilia.{{Cite web|url=https://www.cmc.ie/composers/eric-sweeney|title=Eric Sweeney|date=20 September 2018|website=Contemporary Music Centre}}{{Cite web|url=https://journalofmusic.com/news/rip-composer-eric-sweeney|title=RIP Composer Eric Sweeney|website=The Journal of Music – Irish Music, News, Reviews, Opinion, Concerts, Festivals and Opportunities}}
Career
Sweeney composed in a minimalist style influenced by Béla Bartók, Olivier Messiaen, Andrzej Panufnik, John Adams and Steve Reich. Over his career, he composed two symphonies, five concertos, three operas and choral works, including the cantata Deirdre.{{Cite web|url=https://cailino.com/composers/eric-sweeney/|title=Eric Sweeney}} He was influenced by traditional Irish music and airs.
Sweeney lectured at the DIT Conservatory of Music (today the TU Dublin Conservatoire) and at Trinity College, Dublin. He was Choral Director at RTÉ from 1978 to 1981. He received a D.Phil. from the University of Ulster in 1994. He was Head of the Music Department at Waterford Institute of Technology until 2010. He was a member of the Arts Council from 1989 to 1993.{{Cite web|url=https://waterford-news.ie/2020/07/21/dr-eric-sweeney-1948-2020-a-celebrated-composer-organist-and-academic/|title=Dr Eric Sweeney (1948-2020): a celebrated composer, organist and academic|date=21 July 2020|website=Waterford News & Star}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.munster-express.ie/front-page-news/general-stories/remembering-eric-sweeney/|title=REMEMBERING ERIC SWEENEY|first=Munster|last=Express|date=23 November 2021}}
Personal life
Sweeney married Sally Johnston in 1972; they had three children. They lived in Waterford from 1981 until his death in 2020.
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb name|3011722}}
- {{Official site|ericsweeney.com}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sweeney, Eric}}
Category:Academics of Waterford Institute of Technology
Category:Irish opera composers
Category:Irish male classical composers
Category:Conservatorio Santa Cecilia alumni
Category:Alumni of Ulster University
Category:Composers from Dublin (city)