The composer James Wilson has died. The 81-year-old was born in the UK but has lived in Ireland since 1948.
He wrote many operas during his career and was professor of composition in the Royal Irish Academy of Music. He was also for many years a course director of the Ennis/IMRO Composition Summer School.
His extensive output has been performed and broadcast throughout Ireland, the UK and Scandinavia and includes seven operas, twelve concertos as well as numerous vocal, chamber and instrumental works.
Recent works include a Clarinet Concerto commissioned by RTÉ for performance by John Finucane and the National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland.
James Wilson received the Marten Toonder award in 1997. In 2000 a CD of his orchestral music was released on the Marco Polo label and a second CD of his songs and chamber music with soprano Jane Manning and Concorde was released in 2003.
He was also a founder-member of Aosdána, Ireland's state-sponsored academy of creative artists
He died after a very short illness at Loughlinstown Hospital in the early hours of this morning.
