Frederick Paul Naftel was born in Manchester in 1956. He
graduated from Manchester University in 1978 and received a Fellowship in
Composition from Trinity College of Music,London in October 1980.
After working for a music publishing/record retailing
company,Frederick became a Music Instructor for Manchester Education
Committee,working at Parrs Wood High School and teaching percussion at a number
of Music Centres.
Frederick's interest in composing began when he was
fourteen and developed at University,where he specialised in this area.
Although largely self-taught,he considers himself to be an "eclectic"
composer,able to write in many styles and formats,as befits the occasion.
In February 1983,The BBC Philharmonic Orchestra conducted
by Sir Edward Downes gave the premiere of Concerto No.2 for
Orchestra and in September 1989,Frederick won first prize in the
"Fanfare for the New North" Competition - Northern Lights
for Percussion Ensemble was performed by members of The Halle Orchestra
conducted by Stanislaw Skrowaczewski.
Oh,Pandora! was a multi-arts project involving
music, dance, drama and poetry and was conceived for and performed by pupils of
St.Thomas More School in Buxton,Derbyshire. For this project,Frederick composed
music on three levels - improvised, though structured music for large
percussion ensemble, instrumental movements for a live ensemble and
dances/songs using computerised sounds. The work
was very successful, the pupils discovering their practical abilities through
performing and listening to each other. They also composed ideas of their own
which were integrated into the musical fabric.
While at Poynton High School, Frederick composed and arranged a wide
variety of music for many solo performers and ensembles. He is very committed
to providing music for educational purposes and combines this interest with
writing music for professional groups as well. In 1998, he composed
Anniversary Games for A Level pupils at Fallibroome High School,
Macclesfield, who performed the work several times during 1999, including a
concert performance at The Chester Festival.
In 1999,he was commissioned by Stockport Music Services
to compose a Millennium Song-Cycle for primary school pupils and this resulted
in Juvenilia:10 Songs for the Millennium.
Pascal's Victim was written for the North West
based tuba quartet TUBALATE, who performed the music at the 1999 Vale of
Glamorgan Festival, Standish Arts Festival and at The Royal Northern College of
Music, Manchester in January 2000. His second work for Tubalaté, I
Saw a Snake....,was premiered at The Hebden Bridge Arts Festival on 30 June
2000.Frederick's first work for brass band, Hullabaloo, has received much interest from the brass band world. Pascal's Victim has been recorded
on the ensemble's own label, ASC-CD CS21 "Move".
Recent works include "Dithyramb" for marimba and piano(written at the suggestion of Evelyn Glennie)and the score for a short experimental film entitled "Sculpted". A Cello Concerto has attracted the attention of several performers,including Julian Lloyd Webber,Guy Johnston and Abi Blackman.
I am also working towards a commission for a Double Concerto for Marimba,Saxophone and Wind Band,for the performers Mike Hamnett and Sarah Field.
Other interested artists include Simone Rebello,Toby Kearney,Paul Patrick(percussionists)and Madeleine Mitchell(violinist).
Frederick is now teaching Composition,History and Theory at Aquinas 6th Form College,Stockport.
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