Neil Martin

Neil Martin

Neil Martin is an Irish composer, producer and multi-instrumentalist from Belfast, Northern Ireland. His work spans television, radio, theatre, concert hall performance and studio recording. He is associated with the Ash Cooper Band, West Ocean String Quartet and Cran.

Composition and screen work

Martin’s credits include music for the BBC drama Food for Ravens, written and directed by Trevor Griffiths, the drama short The Devil, directed by Frankie McCafferty, the television documentary Evacuees for Double Band Films, and the short film Shane, directed by Jimmy McAleavey.

Orchestral and ensemble writing

His music is performed by the Ulster Orchestra, the RTÉ Concert Orchestra and the Irish Chamber Orchestra, as well as by a range of chamber ensembles. He founds and leads the West Ocean String Quartet.

In 2004 he receives a commission to write No Tongue Can Tell, a major work for uilleann pipes, whistle and symphony orchestra. The piece opens the Belfast Festival at Queen’s and is later performed at the National Concert Hall in Dublin.

His symphony OSSA receives its world premiere in Belfast in 2007. It is broadcast live on BBC Radio 3 and online, and is preceded by a BBC2 documentary that follows his writing and rehearsal process over twelve months. The work is performed by the Ulster Orchestra, the 120-strong Belfast Philharmonic Choir and treble soloist Declan Kennedy.

In 2011, his composition Exsultet is the featured work in the USA tour by Belfast choir Cappella Caeciliana as part of the Imagine Ireland series.