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He is a choral singer, choral director, composer,
organist and teacher born in Wales who received his education at Radley
College and took further studies at St. John’s College, Cambridge
where he sang with the College Choir under a choral scholarship and was a
recipient of the Arthur Quiller-Couch Prize.
He later entered the Royal Academy of music to study
composition and received his doctorate from the University of London.
His professional career has seen him as a Tenor Lay
Vicar in the Choir of Westminster Abbey and singing/directing as a member
or guest of many British acclaimed choral ensembles including the Avison
Ensemble, Cambridge Singers, the Light Blues, the Monteverdi Choir, the
Oxford Camerata, The Sixteen and the Tallis Scholars.
In 2000 he went to work at Her Majesty’s Chapels
Royal as the Composer, Choirmaster and Organist and two years later he
found himself taking responsibility for a lot of the music used at the
Golden Jubilee service.
His work as a composer saw him writing the music
for “A Hymn for the
Golden Jubilee” after an invitation by the Lord Chamberlain’s
Office and it has since been performed nationally and internationally and
also appears on the official recording marking the Jubilee by the Royal
Philharmonic Orchestra.
He took responsibility for the music performed at
Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mothers’ funeral in 2002.
Five years later, in 2007, he wrote the commissioned A
British Symphony. This became a very controversial
piece when the world premiere, which was to be performed by the Brighton
Philharmonic Orchestra, did not go ahead as the conductor, Barry
Wordsworth, said he “did not believe” in it.
His compositions are many and include an a cappella opera, a one-woman opera, other musical
operas, choral and orchestral works, oratorios and works for children.
Sources:
- http://www.andrewgant.info/html/more_information.html
- http://www.choralconnections.com/index2.php?option=com_content&do_pdf=1&id=15
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Gant
- http://www.avisonensemble.com/visitingmusicians.aspx#Andrew
- http://www.classicsonline.com/conductorbio/Andrew_Gant_45166/#
- http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/music/article1495066.ece
- http://www.andrewgant.info/html/andrew_s_music.html
- http://www.prestoclassical.co.uk/c/Gant%252C_A
- http://stellaceli.style.coocan.jp/day_signal/?p=516
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