Rebecca Saunders, born 1967 in London, studied violin and composition at the University of Edinburgh. Studied composition with Wolfgang Rihm at the Hochschule für Musik in Karlsruhe (1991–94) and with Nigel Osborne (1994–97). Lecturer, Darmstädter Ferienkurse, 2000. Scholarships from the Berlin Akademie der Künste (1995) and the Ernst von Siemens Foundation for Music (1996). Awarded the musica viva BMW Composition Prize (2001) and the Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival’s Paul-Hindemith-Preis (2003). Composer-in-residence, Konzerthaus Dortmund (2005–06) and Staatskapelle Dresden (2009–10).