Photo by William Marsey
Euchar Gravina (b. 1994) is a composer from Malta based in London. His output spans pieces written for soloists and chamber ensembles to choral and orchestral works, as well as electronics.
Recent commissions and projects include a piece for violin and orchestra, recorded by the London Symphony Orchestra, a set of three orchestral pieces with electronics and another set of miniatures for the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra, a chamber orchestra work for Aldeburgh Festival, a touring opera for children for Teatru Malta (in collaboration with Three Palaces Festival), and a concerto for Teatru Manoel and the Valletta International Baroque Festival. Performances of his music have also been given by Christ Church Cathedral Choir (Oxford), Magnard Ensemble, Psappha Ensemble and GBSR Duo. Upcoming projects include a string quartet and a work for chamber orchestra.
The recipient of the special jury prize at the APS National Composition Competition (2015), Euchar was the composer-in-residence with the young ensembles at Sage Gateshead (2017/18) and a Britten Pears Young Artist between 2019 and 2022. His choral work ‘Soneto XIII’, in memory of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, has received multiple performances in the UK and his score to the documentary ‘Children of the Underground’ has travelled between museums in Malta and the Netherlands.
Euchar is Artistic Director at Waterloo Festival, an annual festival in the heart of London bringing together artists, musicians and the local neighbourhood, as well as Artistic Director at St John's Waterloo ahead of a redevelopment project which will transform the venue into a more accessible and inclusive hub for arts and the community.
Following studies in piano and organ, Euchar read composition at the Royal Academy of Music (London) with Simon Bainbridge and Edmund Finnis and participated in masterclasses and lessons with Oliver Knussen, Bent Sørensen, Magnus Lindberg and Judith Weir, amongst others. At the Academy, Euchar also took classes in choral conducting with Patrick Russill. Recently, he was awarded a place on the Peter Reynolds Composer Studio at the Vale of Glamorgan Festival working with Solem Quartet and Magnard Ensemble, and the Dartington Summer School and Festival, led by Larry Goves and Juliet Fraser alongside the House of Bedlam.
When not composing, Euchar directs community choirs in Waterloo and Southwark and teaches piano. He also sings tenor with the London Symphony Chorus.
Euchar has been generously supported by the Janatha Stubbs Foundation, the BOV Joseph Calleja Foundation, Arts Council Malta and is a recipient of Arts Scholarship, financed by the Government of Malta.