Senior Lecturer in Composition
University of Aberdeen.
01 — Bio
Short bio
John De Simone is a composer based in Aberdeen, where he is Senior Lecturer in Composition at the University of Aberdeen. His work explores the human condition through contemporary notated music, often circling questions of health, class, identity, memory and consumer culture.
He has written for groups including the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Red Note Ensemble, Ensemble Klang, the Edinburgh Quartet, the Mondriaan String Quartet, Percussion Group The Hague, Aurelia Sax Quartet and the New Juilliard Ensemble. His music has been performed internationally, broadcast on BBC Radio 3 and released by Delphian Records.
02 — Profile
Longer bio
John De Simone studied composition at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and the Royal Conservatoire, The Hague, where he graduated with distinction, before completing a PhD in Music Composition through the University of St Andrews and the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.
His work spans solo, chamber, ensemble, orchestral, theatrical and interdisciplinary contexts. Across nearly three decades of professional practice, he has developed a musical language concerned less with display than with lived experience: bodies, memory, social class, technology, mental and physical health, and the strange pressure of everyday life.
De Simone’s music has been commissioned and performed by ensembles and institutions including the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Red Note Ensemble, Ensemble Klang, the Edinburgh Quartet, the Mondriaan String Quartet, Aurelia Sax Quartet, Percussion Group The Hague and the New Juilliard Ensemble. His works have appeared at BBC Tectonics, Gaudeamus, Spitalfields, Verona Risuona, Gothenburg GAS Festival, November Muziek, Musical Utopias, sound festival and the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
He is founder and Artistic Director of Ensemble Thing, one of Scotland’s leading new music groups, and has also worked extensively in research development, knowledge exchange and creative leadership. His current research explores interdisciplinary composition and the integration of AI tools within the digital studio, asking what happens to authorship, agency and musical identity when the machine becomes part of the creative process.
03 — Timeline
Posts and education
Founder and Artistic Director
Ensemble Thing, Glasgow.
Inaugural Composer in Residence
sound festival, Aberdeenshire.
Royal Conservatoire of Scotland
Lecturer and Research and Knowledge Exchange Development Officer across multiple roles.
PhD Music Composition
University of St Andrews / Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, awarded without corrections.
MM Music Composition
Royal Conservatoire, The Hague, awarded with distinction.
MMus Composition
Guildhall School of Music and Drama.
BMus Music
Cardiff University.
04 — Research
Research
Current research looks at composition, creative labour, class, health and the role of AI tools in the studio.
05 — Contact
Contact
For commissions, scores, programme notes, biography copy or academic enquiries, contact John directly.