Malcolm Dedman

Malcolm Dedman was born in London, England, on November 3, 1948. Fascinated at an early age by his mother’s piano playing, she taught him to play when he was around 5 years of age. Once Dedman had a basic understanding, he found himself improvising alongside his regular practice. By the age of 12, he realized that he wanted to write some of these ideas down, so this became the starting point to his career as a composer. 

During his teens, he listened to a lot of new music and basically taught himself to write, learning from what he heard. For him, writing music was not a choice, it was something he had to do. With minimal input from other musicians, he won two prizes: a setting of the Magnificat (in English) for the Free Church Choir Union and a Sonatina for the Brent Music and Dance Festival, a work which was later to form the first movement of his Piano Sonata No. 1 – Restoration. 

In his 20s, Dedman studied composition informally with Patric Standford, who was teaching at the time in the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. This helped to establish a more personal style and to become more practical in his approach to composition. 

In 2005 he gained a Masters Degree with distinction at Thames Valley University (now University of West London) in Composing Concert Music. He has received performances in England, Ireland, France, Germany, Italy, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Slovakia, United States, Brazil, Mexico, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, and South Africa. Many of these performances have been received well by audiences and critics, including two excellent reviews by Anthony Payne. 

He has recently worked with Professor Nancy Lee Harper who has recorded his first piano album on Toccata Classics. The second volume is due out this year.