Dean was born and studied in Australia before moving to Germany, where he was a member of the Berlin Philharmonic for fourteen years and began composing. His music is championed by leading conductors and orchestras worldwide, including Sir Simon Rattle, Daniel Harding, Andris Nelsons, and Marin Alsop. Much of Dean’s work draws from literary, political, environmental and visual stimuli.

Dean began composing in 1988, gaining international recognition through works like his clarinet concerto Ariel’s Music (1995), which won a UNESCO Composers Award, and Carlo (1997). In 2009 Dean won the Grawemeyer Award for violin concerto The Lost Art of Letter Writing, and in June 2017 his opera Hamlet was premièred at Glyndebourne Festival Opera, winning a South Bank Sky Arts Award and International Opera Award. Dean also appears with the world’s leading orchestras, ensembles and festivals as a conductor and as violist performing his Viola Concerto and chamber music.