Monthly Archives: November 2011

Composers

Gareth Wilson

Gareth Wilson, conducted the Cantate Choir during it’s performance of his own work Decalogue in November 2011.

Gareth Wilson, Composer

Gareth Wilson, conductor, composer and lecturer, was born in Glasgow and studied at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, Edinburgh University and the Royal Academy of Music in London. He teaches in the Music Department of King’s College, London, is a regular lecturer for the Royal College of Organists, Director of Music at Christ Church, Chelsea and conductor of the London-based chamber choir, Incagliati. He has undertaken postgraduate degrees in Theology and Philosophy of Religion at Heythrop College, London University, and is currently pursuing doctoral research at King’s College, London. He has composed over 70 pieces for the Anglican liturgy and in 2011 joined forces with philosophers Peter Vardy and Charlotte Fowler to present a documentary and series of conferences on music and philosophy.

Previous concerts

Durufle Requiem and Gareth Wilson’s Decalogue

7.30pm, Saturday 26 November, 2011 – St Mary’s Platt Church, Nr Borough Green

Poster for Cantate Choir's Durufle Requiem concert in November 2011

Soloists

Gareth Wilson – composer & conductor
Nicholas O’Neill – organ

Programme

Gareth Wilson – Decalogue
Duruflé – Requiem

This concert included Gareth Wilson’s first performance outside London of Decalogue.

Performing new music, and working with composers is a real thrill for musicians: getting the music ‘hot off the press’. The Cantate Chamber Choir worked with Gareth Wilson, conductor, composer, theologian and educator, preparing his new work ‘Decalogue’ for their concert on Saturday 26th November in the Parish Church of St Mary Platt.

The work, sets biblical texts from both the old and new testaments, to music as a set of eleven motets for choir and organ. Each text is chosen to highlight one of the Ten Commandments, with the eleventh movement being the words of Jesus; “I give you a new commandment”.

The composer, Gareth Wilson, conducted the work and the choir’s musical director, Robin Walker, played the substantial organ accompaniment.

For the second half of the concert Robin conducted the choir as they performed one of the choral repertoire’s most loved works: Maurice Duruflé’s ‘Requiem’, with its haunting ‘Pie Jesu’ and heavenly ‘In Paradisum’.

Programme notes

View programme notes

Organ

Nicholas O’Neill

Nicholas, played organ for the Cantate Choir during it’s performance of Durufle’s Requiem in November 2011.

Nicholas O'Neill, Organ

Nicholas O’Neill was born in Cheltenham in 1970, and currently lives in London, where he works as a composer and musician. In 1992 he was unanimously awarded first prize in the Norwich Festival Composition Competition. He won the Gregynog Young Composers’ Award in 1993, shared the Barbara Johnstone Composition Prize in 1995, and has been shortlisted for the Cornelius Cardew, Purcell, Oare String Orchestra, William Mathias and Vocalis composition awards. His music has been performed at the Leeds Festival of Contemporary Music, the Norwich and London Festivals of Contemporary Church Music and broadcast on Classic FM. He has recently been awarded the American Guild of Organists-Marilyn Mason Award 2012 for his Festive Voluntary.

Formerly head of Musical Techniques at Trinity College of Music, Organist to Brighton College and St. George’s RC Cathedral, Southwark, he is Associate Music Director of the Occam Singers, Chorus Master of the Parliament Choir and the Malcolm Sargent Festival Choir, President of Cantores Salicium and Associate Director of Music at St. Mary Abbots, Kensington. He also lectures for Birkbeck, University of London. Nick is a Fellow of the Royal College of Organists and an Honorary Fellow of the Academy of Saint Cecilia, on whose advisory panel he sits. He is also the Academy’s first Composer in Residence and has recently been appointed to the same post with the Parliament Choir.

By night Nick is keyboardist with rock band JEBO, who released their second album, Settle Up Or Settle Down last year. This and their critically acclaimed first album Sinking Without You are available from iTunes and Amazon.

Nick can be contacted via his website.