A native of Scotland, Alexander Cowdell grew up in New Zealand, where he studied violin and played with several orchestras. Inspired by a meeting with the British composer Peter Maxwell Davies, Cowdell moved to London in 1967, where he was a first violinist at the English National Opera and also began to study composition. Ever since, he has written numerous works, which have been performed in Great Britain, the Netherlands, Australia and New Zealand. In 2005 the 60-year-old returned to New Zealand; today he is president of the Auckland Youth Orchestra.