Timothy Cape is an Irish composer who combines notated music, improvisation, physicality and text to create visceral music-theatre works which engage with contemporary political issues in unusual and playful ways.
Tim’s projects range from fully staged theatrical productions such as Still Drowsy, commissioned by Venice Music Biennale (2022), to his smaller scale vocal improv project Flindling (2025) broadcast on BBC radio 3 this year with Tom Service saying “a strange and uneasy peacefulness… what a ride that set was!”.
In 2025 he was resident composer at Centre Culturel Irlandais in Paris, and Soundinitiative Ensemble (FR) performed his new work Soother, funded by Diaphonique and DRAC Ile-de-France, in Dublin and twice in Paris. He had premieres of new work in London (x2), Lucerne Festival (CH), RAMP Festival (IE), and his work toured across Europe with performances at Hugh Lane Gallery and Music Current Festival (IE), Cafe Oto and Oxford Contemporary Music Series (UK), as well as Copenhagen and Rome in 2025.
He is a member of Bastard Assignments, called “a foursome of madcap inventiveness” by the Telegraph in 2026 and “one of the most exciting forces in contemporary music” by Financial Times in 2020. PIGSPIGSPIGS co-commissioned by Wigmore Hall (UK), Borealis (NO) and Spor (DK), and HOUSE commissioned by Musik-Installationen Nuremberg both tour around Europe in 25/26.
The Wire’s Emily Bick selected two highlights of 2025 in the magazine’s December issue, and both were Cape’s projects – He was musical director and performer in Alan Fielden’s Container (Alan Fielden, New Diorama Theatre) and one of four composer-performers of HOUSE (Bastard Assignments). Bick called them both “brilliantly human performance-operas”.
2021 Commissions included hcmf// (UK), Kirkos Ensemble (IE) and percussionist Angela Hui Wai Nok (five performances internationally), Previous commissions include Spitalfields Festival and Britten Pears (UK). Radio broadcasts include Late Junction, New Music Show and The Verb (BBC radio 3, UK), Deutschlandfunk Cultur and SWR2 (DE). His work has been performed internationally including Aldeburgh festival, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Purcell Room, hcmf//, Kettle’s Yard (UK), Spor festival, AUT (DK) Perifirein (NO), Music Current (IE), Constellations (US), Cattle Depot (HK).
In 2017-2019 he studied a masters in Art in the Public Sphere at RCA, London after completing a BMus at Trinity Laban conservatoire in 2013. In 2016/17 he took lessons with Jennifer Walshe funded by the Help Musicians Talent Development Bursary.
He is represented by the Contemporary Music Centre, Ireland.
Contact:
timcape91 (at) gmail (dot) com
Press:
“A rude awakening for classical music” – Financial Times previews PIGSPIGSPIGS by Bastard Assignments at Wigmore Hall (April 2026) View
“Mesmerizing to see and hear… wild and raucous in its structure and performance… It was clear we listeners were in the company of performers who listened deeply to one another” Review of duo set with Mayah Kadish in I Care If You Listen (March 2026) View
“brilliantly human performance-operas” The Wire’s Emily Bick on Container (with Alan Fielden) and House (with Bastard Assignments) which she chose as her two highlights of 2025. View
“dynamic… feverish… with meticulous choreography” review of Sorry for the Late Reply performed by Matthew Grouse in Seismograph (October 2025) View
“ends with a strange and uneasy peacefulness… what a ride that set was!” – Tom Service on Flindling, broadcast on BBC radio 3 New Music Show (May 2025)
“moving and bizarrely humorous …. [with songs] as tender as the highlights from Robert Wyatt’s back catalogue” The Wire review of HOUSE by Bastard Assignments at Music Installationen, Nuremberg (May 2025) View
“semi-surrealist … by turns calm and chaotic… a metaphor for a person under constant demands” Journal of Music review of Soother at Music Current Festival (2025) View
“The cast is arresting and abundantly talented” Guardian review of Container (2025) View
Van magazine feature on Bastard Assignments (2025) View
Near fm interview and recording of Hugh Lane concert, Dublin with Mayah Kadish (2025) Listen
Radio feature about Bastard Assignments’ creative process on Deutschlandfunk (2024) Listen
Interview with Tom Service of BBC radio 3 about Still Drowsy at the Venice Music Biennale (2022) Listen
“A synthesis of estrangement” Review of Still Drowsy on Sipario (2022) Read (in Italian)
“Timothy Cape’s ‘Favourite Bits’, perhaps my favourite of the lot…” The Arts Desk review of Favourite Bits at Southbank Centre, London (2022) View
“Disturbing” – The Quietus on Sorry for the Late Reply (2021) View
“Virtuosic” – Tim Rutherford Johnson on Sugar Cage in Neue Zeitschrift für Musik (2020) View
“One of the most exciting forces in contemporary music” Financial Times on Bastard Assignments 2020 – View
Frieze magazine feature on Bastard Assignments, (2019). View
“A ritual of communal sound actions” The Wire magazine on My my my (2015) . View
Guardian article about Bastard Assignments (2015). View
Soother (2024) with Soundinitiative Ensemble (FR)