Fraser Trainer studied composition at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and Huddersfield University where he was awarded the 1989 Composition Prize and had his 'Three Cyclic Pieces' for Oboe and Piano performed as part of the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival. Following postgraduate studies at the Guildhall School with Simon Bainbridge, his piece 'The Scheme of Things' won the 1992 Lutoslawski Prize.
Recent performances and broadcasts of Fraser's work include 'Equinal Dancing' (part two) by BBC Radio 3 and 'Siebengesang des Todes' and 'From Back to Back' by the Society for the Promotion of New Music. 'Hammers Levers and Strings' was commissioned and performed by the Gemelli Trio in 1996 and 'Henri's Kind of Blue', a commission from cellist Matthew Barley, was premiered at the Lichfield Festival and repeated in Tokyo last year.
'True to Life' was commissioned for performance by the London Sinfonietta and three children's groups. It was premiered at the South Bank Centre in February 1997.
Fraser is well known for his work in music education, both as a composer and as Education Projects Co-ordinator to the London Sinfonietta. He has led many education projects, throughout the community, including music-theatre projects in HMP Maidstone and Wormwood Scrubs. He has also taken part in composition and training projects in Norway, Finland, Greece and Japan. He works regularly with the Halle Orchestra, Psappha, English National Opera, Glyndebourne, the Royal College of Music and the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain.
With Sound Intermedia, he devised the Treeline-Online web site.