# Daniel Kidane > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Daniel_Kidane > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Daniel_Kidane.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Kidane > Source revision: 1304349440 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) **Daniel Kidane** (born 1986) is a British composer. His piece "Woke" opened the last night of the 2019 [Proms](/source/The_Proms).[1][2] In 2016 his "Sirens" was one of a group of five short works commissioned by the [BBC Philharmonic](/source/BBC_Philharmonic) to commemorate the 400th anniversary of [Shakespeare's](/source/William_Shakespeare) death, and performed in the [Bridgewater Hall](/source/Bridgewater_Hall). *[The Guardian](/source/The_Guardian)'*s reviewer described it as a "propulsive, eclectic piece" which "soaked up influences of jungle, dubstep and R&B sampled from a trawl through the city after dark.[3] "His 2017 work "Zulu" was performed by the [Royal Scottish National Orchestra](/source/Royal_Scottish_National_Orchestra).[4][5] His "Dream Song" was premiered at the [Queen Elizabeth Hall](/source/Queen_Elizabeth_Hall) by the [Chineke! Orchestra](/source/Chineke!_Orchestra) on the re-opening of the hall in 2018 and the 50th anniversary of the funeral of [Martin Luther King Jr.](/source/Martin_Luther_King_Jr.), and includes words from his "[I Have a Dream](/source/I_Have_a_Dream)" speech.[6][7] The concert was broadcast by [BBC Radio 3](/source/BBC_Radio_3).[8] The orchestra later recorded the work on their album *Spark Catchers*.[9] In 2020 he was commissioned by [Huddersfield Choral Society](/source/Huddersfield_Choral_Society) to write "We'll Sing", with words by [Simon Armitage](/source/Simon_Armitage), who worked from a list of words sent by choir members to reflect their experience of [lockdown](/source/COVID-19_lockdowns) during the [COVID-19 pandemic](/source/COVID-19_pandemic_in_the_United_Kingdom). This was released on a music video in autumn 2020.[10][11] In 2022 Kidane joined the [Schott Music](/source/Schott_Music) publishing company.[12] ## Early life and education Kidane was born in 1986[13] to a Russian mother and an Eritrean father. From South London, Kidane took Saturday music classes in [Tooting](/source/Tooting).[14][1] He played the [recorder](/source/Recorder_(musical_instrument)) and the [violin](/source/Violin) at school, and sang in the children's chorus of the [English National Opera](/source/English_National_Opera). He went on to study composition at the [Royal Northern College of Music](/source/Royal_Northern_College_of_Music), where he graduated with a B.Mus in 2012.[1][15][16] He has also studied at the [St. Petersburg Conservatoire](/source/Saint_Petersburg_Conservatory) under [Sergei Slonimsky](/source/Sergei_Slonimsky).[17] ## References 1. Kidane, Daniel (14 September 2019). ["Why, this year, Last Night of the Proms will be woke"](https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/sep/14/last-night-proms-woke-classical-music). *The Guardian*. Retrieved 28 January 2021. 1. Dixon, Gavin (15 September 2019). ["Last Night of the Proms, review: bisexual pride and diversity"](https://inews.co.uk/culture/last-night-of-the-proms-review-bisexual-rainbow-flag-338951). *inews.co.uk*. Retrieved 28 January 2021. 1. Hickling, Alfred (25 April 2016). ["BBC Philharmonic/Gourlay review – inventive, eclectic and ill-coordinated"](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2016/apr/25/bbc-philharmonic-andrew-gourlay-review-shakespeare). *The Guardian*. Retrieved 28 January 2021. 1. Thompson, Simon (11 November 2017). ["Gomez steps in late for Russian Revolution programme"](https://bachtrack.com/review-gomez-sunwoo-rsno-edinburgh-november-2017). *bachtrack.com*. Retrieved 28 January 2021. 1. ["Zulu"](https://web.archive.org/web/20210208134715/https://www.rsno.org.uk/zulu/). *www.rsno.org.uk*. Royal Scottish National Orchestra. Archived from [the original](https://www.rsno.org.uk/zulu/) on 8 February 2021. Retrieved 28 January 2021. 1. Ashley, Tim (10 April 2018). ["Chineke!/Parnther review – exhilarating reopening for the QEH"](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2018/apr/10/chineke-parnther-queen-elizabeth-hall-reopening). *The Guardian*. Retrieved 28 January 2021. 1. ["Daniel Kidane's 'Dream Song' is premiered by Chineke! at the reopening of the Queen Elizabeth Hall"](https://web.archive.org/web/20181206054720/http://www.rayfieldallied.com/news/2018/chineke-performs-world-premiere-of-daniel-kidanes-dream-song-at-the-queen-elizabeth-hall). *Rayfield Allied*. 10 April 2018. Archived from [the original](http://www.rayfieldallied.com/news/2018/chineke-performs-world-premiere-of-daniel-kidanes-dream-song-at-the-queen-elizabeth-hall) on 6 December 2018. Retrieved 28 January 2021. 1. ["Chineke! Orchestra play Britten, Beethoven, Daniel Kidane"](https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b09yh2jf). *Radio 3 in Concert*. BBC Radio 3. Retrieved 28 January 2021. 1. Maddocks, Fiona (19 January 2020). ["Home Listening: Rhian Samuel, Chineke! Orchestra and Beethoven Unleashed"](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2020/jan/19/rhian-samuel-clytemnestra-ruby-hughes-review-chineke-spark-catchers-beethoven-1808-cardiff). *The Guardian*. Retrieved 28 January 2021. 1. ["About the Commissions"](https://web.archive.org/web/20210208094935/https://wellsing.huddersfieldchoral.com/about-the-commissions). *We'll Sing*. Huddersfield Choral Society. Archived from [the original](https://wellsing.huddersfieldchoral.com/about-the-commissions) on 8 February 2021. Retrieved 28 January 2021. 1. Parr, Freya (9 October 2020). ["Poet Laureate Simon Armitage to write lyrics to music set by Cheryl Frances-Hoad and Daniel Kidane in response to COVID-19"](https://www.classical-music.com/news/poet-laureate-simon-armitage-to-write-lyrics-to-music-set-by-cheryl-frances-hoad-and-daniel-kidane-in-response-to-covid-19/). *Classical Music*. Retrieved 28 January 2021. 1. ["Daniel Kidane joins Schott Music publishing"](https://www.rayfieldallied.com/news/2022/daniel-kidane-joins-schott-music-publishing). *Rayfield Allied*. 12 December 2022. Retrieved 13 December 2022. 1. ["Sound Frontiers: Daniel Kidane"](https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07xhtbg). *Composer of the Week: Five under 40*. BBC Radio 3. 2016. Retrieved 28 January 2021. 1. Awbi, Anita (6 November 2014). ["Daniel Kidane"](https://www.prsformusic.com/m-magazine/features/interview-daniel-kidane). *PRS for Music*. Retrieved 22 March 2025. 1. ["Daniel Kidane"](https://www.rncm.ac.uk/alumni-home/alumni-news-and-features/meet-our-honorary-associate-artists/daniel-kidane/). *RNCM*. Royal Northern College of Music. Retrieved 28 January 2021. 1. ["Daniel Kidane"](http://www.rayfieldallied.com/artists/daniel-kidane). *Rayfield Allied*. Retrieved 28 January 2021. 1. ["Daniel Kidane"](https://britishmusiccollection.org.uk/composer/daniel-kidane). *British Music Collection*. 7 July 2015. Retrieved 28 January 2021. --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Daniel Kidane](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Kidane) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Kidane?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.