Philip Hammond graduated from Queen’s University Belfast as a Bachelor of Music, Master of Arts and, in 2003,as a Doctor of Music. Following an encompassing career in teaching, performing and writing, he retired after twenty years as a Director of the Arts Council of Northern Ireland in 2009. He now concentrates on composition and arts correspondence.
Philip Hammond has received commissions for, amongst others, the Ulster Orchestra, the National Youth Orchestra of Ireland, Lontano, the Brodsky String Quartet and for individual musicians such as Sir James Galway, Barry Douglas, Nikolai Demidenko , Dame Ann Murray, Michael McHale and Robin Tritschler.
Can classic opera reflect the political status of the society in which it is performed? Calixto Bieito's production of Turandot for Northern Ireland Opera raises some uncomfortable questions.
