Derek Bell

Description

Derek Bell (October 21, 1935 &ndash; October 17, 2002) was an Irish harpist and composer. <p>Derek Bell was born George Derek Fleetwood Bell in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Because he had been misdiagnosed at an early age as having a disease that would lead to blindness, his parents gave him a musical upbringing. Bell was something of a child prodigy, composing his first concerto at the age of 12. He graduated from the Royal College of Music in 1957. While studying there, he became friends with flautist James Galway. Between 1958 and 1990 he composed several classical works, including three piano sonatas, two symphonies and Three Images of Ireland in Druid Times (in 1993) for harp, strings and timpani. Bell was a master of several instruments, including the oboe, cor anglais, harpsichord, cimbalom, and piano. <p>The hammered dulcimer is well documented as having been played in Ireland in the eighteenth century and is even mentioned by James Joyce as an instrument he heard being played in the...