Conductor

Stephen has a wealth of experience as a choral conductor. From 1978 to 1985 he was conductor of St. Albans Abbey Choir and the St. Albans Bach choir, as well as the Elizabethan Singers from 1982-1985. He made several recordings and broadcasts on radio and television with St. Albans Abbey Choir (see discography). He directed the St. Albans Bach choir in performances of Elgar’s the Dream of Gerontius and the Kingdom, J.S. Bach’s St. Matthew and St. John Passions, Mendelssohn’s Elijah, Britten’s Spring Symphony and Delius’s Sea Drift, Britten’s St. Nicholas, Handel’s Messiah, Soloman and Israel in Egypt, V.Williams An Oxford Elegy, Haydn Mass in Time of War, Mozart’s Requiem.  He has chorus mastered for Meredith Davis (Walton’s Belshazzar’s Feast), Andras Schiff (Haydn Masses), Kurt Masur (J.S. Bach’s St. Matthew Passion), Edo de Waart (Elgar’s Dream of Gerontius), Jonathan Darlington (Haydn’s Creation).

In the UK he  has conducted performances in Royal Festival Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Purcell Room, Royal Albert Hall, Cadogan Hall, St. John’s Smith Square, the Roundhouse, St. David’s Hall, Cardiff, Symphony Hall, Birmingham, Sheldonian Theatre, Oxford, Snape Maltings  Overseas, he has conducted in Washington National Cathedral, St. Thomas, New York, Spivey Hall, Atlanta, Theatro Municipal, São Paulo, Brazil, Notre Dame, Paris, St. Thomas, Leipzig, NCPA Beijing, Triphony Hall, Tokyo, Sydney Opera House, Casa da Música , Oporto, Portugal, and sacred music venues in Lahti, Helsinki, Poznan (Mozart’s Requiem), Prague, Frankfurt, Freiburg and Freiberg, Amsterdam, Bruges, Antwerp, Nantes (Messiah), Beaune (Messiah), Kingston Jamaica, Bermuda, Macau and Göttingen.

He has worked with a number of leading orchestras including Australian Brandenburg Orchestra, London Mozart Players, Bournemouth Sinfonietta, English Concert, English Chamber Orchestra, Northern Sinfonia, Hanover Band, English String Orchestra, London Musici, Oxford Baroque and Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra.

Commissioning of new music has been a priority during Stephen’s career.  This has involved working closely on first performances with many distinguished contemporary composers such as Judith Weir, John Tavener, Edward Harper, Howard Goodall, Alan Ridout, Robert Saxton, Francis Grier, Gabriel Jackson, William Mathias and Mark Simpson.  He has also developed initiatives such as the Carter Composition Prize at Christ Church and the for EU-funded Old Hispanic Office Project and International Composition Competition to encourage outstanding young composers. His recordings of the music of neglected repertoire by 20th century composers such as Leoš Janáček, Egon Wellesz, Frank Martin, William Mathias, Michael Tippett, Benjamin Britten, have been celebrated for their boldness.

Stephen has undertaken many collaborative community projects in the UK and abroad.  He was at the forefront of Sing up in Oxford and also collaborated with Oxfordshire County Music Service in a series of performances (and recording) of Britten’s Children’s Crusade.  On recent tours, in addition to directing Christ Church choir in its own programmes, Stephen worked intensively alongside local community choirs in Portugal, Jamaica, Bermuda the USA and China, culminating in successful and memorable joint concerts.

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