"I get the sense of pure music in a serious vein, its composer driven only by an internal need to express himself."
James H. North, Fanfare Magazine, USA 2008

"Simaku's idiom combines avant-gardism and modality in a manner all its own." Avangarde und Ethnologie vereint, by Frank Kämpfer, Deutschlandfunk, Cologne, 2008

"Power is certainly the mot juste here, as even in the moments that veer towards silence there is an awareness of the explosive potentialities of the musical surface. As on all the works presented here, the sure voice of the composer is never in doubt."
Colin Clarke, 2009 Cambridge University Press, Tempo 63

Albanian-born British composer, Thomas Simaku (b.1958) graduated from the Tirana Conservatoire (1978-82) and gained a PhD in Composition at the University of York (1991-96) where he studied with David Blake.Winner of the much coveted Lionel Robbins Memorial Scholarship (Simaku was the only candidate in the UK to win it in 1993), he also was the 1996 Leonard Bernstein Fellow in Composition at Tanglewood Music Centre in the USA with Bernard Rands, and a fellow at the Composers’ Workshop - California State University (1998) with Brian Ferneyhough.

Simaku's music has been reaching audiences all over Europe and the USA for over a decade, and it has been awarded a host of accolades for its expressive qualities and its unique blend of drama, intensity and modernism. Prestigious awards include the Serocki International Prize, Lutoslwaski Award, BASCA Award, Fellowship from the Arts & Humanities Research Council in London, Leverhulme Fellowship, DAAD Residency in Berlin, and Honourable Mention at the 2006 Musical Personalities International Competition - Alexander Tansman.

In 1995 his work Epitaph for String Orchestra was selected by the International Jury for the ISCM World Music Days in Germany - the first ever Albanian music to be included in this prestigious festival. Subsequently Simaku's works have been selected by the International Juries for the ISCM festivals of 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006. Other festivals where his music has been performed include Huddersfield, Tanglewood, Avignon, Miami, Zagreb-Biennale, Weimar, Munich, Rome, Cagliari, KlangSpectrum (Austria), Viitassari (Finland), Alea III Boston, Innsbruck(Austria), Odense (Denmark), Manchester, York, Birmingham, Automne de Tirana etc.

Broadcasts of his music include those by BBC Radio 3, Radio-France, SWR2, MDR, Deutschlandfunk (Cologne), Amsterdam Radio 4, ORF (Austria), Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), Japanese, Polish, Croatian, Danish, Portuguese, Hellenic, Swedish, Romanian, Swiss and Icelandic radio stations.

Notable performances include, among others, those given by the Arditti Quartet, English Northern Philharmonia, Slovenian Radio-Television Orchestra, European Union Chamber Orchestra, MusikFabrik, London's Kreutzer Quartet, Amsterdam New Music Ensemble, the New London Orchestra, Goldberg Ensemble, Tokyo Phonosphere Musicale, Insomnio Ensemble, Polish Radio Chamber Orchestra, Rubinstein Quartet, Copenhagen Sinfonietta, Concorde (Dublin), Luxembourg Sinfonietta, Romanian Radio Chamber Orchestra, Capricorn Ensemble, Norwegian Medieval Trio, Tyrolean Ensemble of New Music (TICOM), The Duke String Quartet, Tirana Asmus Ensemble.

Internationally acclaimed soloists such as Peter Sheppard Skaerved,Neil Heyde, Garth Knox, Rohan de Saram, Noriko Kawai, Christopher Orton, Ian Pace, Vania Lecuit and Madeline Shapiro have performed his solo works. Simaku's music is published by University of York Music Press and Emerson Edition.

Thomas Simaku has given lectures and presentations on his music at a number of Universities and Academies, including King's College and Royal Academy of Music in London, 'Hanns Eisler' Academy in Berlin, Vienna Conservatoire, Leeds University and Birmingham Conservatoire.

In 2000 he was granted British Citizenship and now lives in York with his wife and two daughters. Thomas Simaku is a Senior Lecturer at the University of York.