Composing in Venice
Born in Croydon, England, Geoffrey King’s first musical studies were at the Royal School of Church Music, Addington Palace. Later, at the Royal College of Music, London, he studied with Humphrey Searle, Justin Connolly and Alexander Goehr. As a postgraduate, he undertook further work with Goehr at the University of Southampton and also with Jonathan Harvey. In 1973, with an Italian government scholarship, he went to study with Ernesto Rubin de Cervin and Giuseppe Sinopoli at the Conservatorio “Benedetto Marcello”, Venice.
In 1976, King moved to Edinburgh to work at St Mary’s Music School. During the following twelve years, as well as teaching, he founded ECAT, the Scottish promoter of new music concerts, together with Peter Nelson. From 1987-89 he was composer-in-residence at Huddersfield Polytechnic and then at the NCOS (National Centre for Orchestral Studies) in London. In 1988, with a Dutch government scholarship, he moved to The Hague to do further study at the Koninklijk Conservatorium. Subsequently he settled in Amsterdam, where he now lives.