Ganed Stephen McNeff yn Iwerddon a’i fagu yn Abertawe, lle datblygodd ddiddordeb mewn cyfansoddi cerddoriaeth gan gael ei annog gan athrawon a’i ysbrydoli gan y wledd o gerddora a ddigwyddai yr adeg honno yn ne Cymru. Ar ôl astudio yn yr Academi Gerdd Frenhinol, bu’n gweithio fel cerddor theatr cyn symud i Ganada, lle datblygodd ei ddiddordeb mewn opera a’i harweiniodd at redeg cwmni theatr gerdd bach a gweithio gydag Opera Canada yn Toronto. Ar ôl dychwelyd i’r DU bu ei waith operatig yn parhau gyda pherfformiadau a chomisiynau gan y Tŷ Opera Brenhinol (Gentle Giant), Opera North (What I Heard About Iraq) ac yn y blaen, ond roedd ei ddiddordeb mewn cerddoriaeth gerddorfaol hefyd yn ffynnu fel Cyfansoddwr Preswyl gyda Cherddorfa Symffoni Bournemouth a gweithiau yn cynnwys y rheini ar gyfer Gerddorfa Symffoni’r BBC a Cherddorfa Ulster. Ac yntau’n enillydd Gwobr Cyfansoddwyr Prydain i Tarka, mae ei operâu diweddar (ar wahân i 2117/Hedd Wyn) wedi cynnwys Banished (2016), The Burning Boy (2018), a Beyond the Garden (2020).

 
Stephen McNeff was born in Ireland and raised in Swansea, where he developed an interest in composing music, encouraged by teachers and the wealth of music-making then available in South Wales. After studying at the Royal Academy of Music, he worked as a theatre musician before moving to Canada, where he developed his interest in opera, leading to running a small-scale music theatre company and working with the Canadian Opera in Toronto. Returning to the UK, his operatic work continued with performances and commissions from the Royal Opera House (Gentle Giant) and Opera North (What I Heard About Iraq) among others, but his interest in orchestral music also flourished as Composer in Residence with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, and with works including those for BBC Symphony Orchestra and Ulster Orchestra. A British Composer Awards winner for Tarka, recent operas (apart from 2117/Hedd Wyn) have included Banished (2016), The Burning Boy (2018), and Beyond the Garden (2020). 

 

​