Edward Gregson
Encyclopedia
Edward Gregson is an English
composer
of international standing, whose music has been performed, broadcast, and recorded worldwide. He was born in Sunderland, England
, in 1945. He studied composition (with Alan Bush
) and piano at the Royal Academy of Music
from 1963-7, winning five prizes for composition. Since then he has worked solely to commission and has written orchestral, chamber, instrumental and choral music, as well as music for the theatre, film, and television.
Edward Gregson was Principal of the Royal Northern College of Music
in Manchester from 1996–2008, when he retired from academic life to concentrate on his composition. He continues to sit on a number of Boards relating to music education and the music industry. He is a fellow at the RNCM, as well as at the Royal Academy of Music and the Royal College of Music
.
In recent years he has completed orchestral commissions for the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, the Bournemouth Symphony, the Hallé and the BBC Philharmonic orchestras. His music has also been performed by many other orchestras and ensembles worldwide, including in the UK: the London Symphony Orchestra and all the BBC orchestras; in the USA: Detroit, Louisville and Albany (New York); in the Far East: Tokyo Philharmonic and China National Broadcasting Orchestra; and in Europe: orchestras in France, Germany, Holland, Luxembourg, and Scandinavia.
He has made a major contribution to the repertoire of brass and wind bands and ensembles including for brass: Connotations (1977), Dances and Arias (1984), Of Men and Mountains (1991), The Trumpets of the Angels (2000) and Rococo Variation (2008); and for wind: Festivo (1985), Celebration (1990), The Sword and the Crown (1996), Concerto for Piano and Wind (1997), and The Kings Go Forth (1998).
In 1988 he was nominated for an Ivor Novello award for his title music to BBC Television’s Young Musician of the Year programmes, for which he also regularly officiated as a jury member and broadcaster. A major retrospective of his music was held in Manchester in 2002 which coincided with the release of a CD of his orchestral music (including the clarinet and violin concertos) on the Chandos label. This disc, with the BBC Philharmonic under Martyn Brabbins, received wide critical acclaim, and in 2008 another CD of his concertos (those for trumpet, piano, and saxophone) was released on the same label. A third volume of his concertos, including his recent cello concerto and the trombone concerto, was recorded in March 2010.
Several CDs of his music for brass have been recorded by various groups on the Doyen label;
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
of international standing, whose music has been performed, broadcast, and recorded worldwide. He was born in Sunderland, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, in 1945. He studied composition (with Alan Bush
Alan Bush
Alan Dudley Bush was a British composer and pianist. He was a committed socialist, and politics sometimes provided central themes in his music.-Personal life:...
) and piano at the Royal Academy of Music
Royal Academy of Music
The Royal Academy of Music in London, England, is a conservatoire, Britain's oldest degree-granting music school and a constituent college of the University of London since 1999. The Academy was founded by Lord Burghersh in 1822 with the help and ideas of the French harpist and composer Nicolas...
from 1963-7, winning five prizes for composition. Since then he has worked solely to commission and has written orchestral, chamber, instrumental and choral music, as well as music for the theatre, film, and television.
Edward Gregson was Principal of the Royal Northern College of Music
Royal Northern College of Music
The Royal Northern College of Music is a music school in Manchester, England. It is located on Oxford Road in Chorlton on Medlock, at the western edge of the campus of the University of Manchester and is one of four conservatories associated with the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music...
in Manchester from 1996–2008, when he retired from academic life to concentrate on his composition. He continues to sit on a number of Boards relating to music education and the music industry. He is a fellow at the RNCM, as well as at the Royal Academy of Music and the Royal College of Music
Royal College of Music
The Royal College of Music is a conservatoire founded by Royal Charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, England.-Background:The first director was Sir George Grove and he was followed by Sir Hubert Parry...
.
In recent years he has completed orchestral commissions for the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, the Bournemouth Symphony, the Hallé and the BBC Philharmonic orchestras. His music has also been performed by many other orchestras and ensembles worldwide, including in the UK: the London Symphony Orchestra and all the BBC orchestras; in the USA: Detroit, Louisville and Albany (New York); in the Far East: Tokyo Philharmonic and China National Broadcasting Orchestra; and in Europe: orchestras in France, Germany, Holland, Luxembourg, and Scandinavia.
He has made a major contribution to the repertoire of brass and wind bands and ensembles including for brass: Connotations (1977), Dances and Arias (1984), Of Men and Mountains (1991), The Trumpets of the Angels (2000) and Rococo Variation (2008); and for wind: Festivo (1985), Celebration (1990), The Sword and the Crown (1996), Concerto for Piano and Wind (1997), and The Kings Go Forth (1998).
In 1988 he was nominated for an Ivor Novello award for his title music to BBC Television’s Young Musician of the Year programmes, for which he also regularly officiated as a jury member and broadcaster. A major retrospective of his music was held in Manchester in 2002 which coincided with the release of a CD of his orchestral music (including the clarinet and violin concertos) on the Chandos label. This disc, with the BBC Philharmonic under Martyn Brabbins, received wide critical acclaim, and in 2008 another CD of his concertos (those for trumpet, piano, and saxophone) was released on the same label. A third volume of his concertos, including his recent cello concerto and the trombone concerto, was recorded in March 2010.
Recordings
Chandos have released two complete discs of concertos by Gregson:- Trumpet Concerto, Saxophone Concerto, Concerto for piano and wind
- Blazon, Clarinet Concerto, Violin Concerto, Stepping Out
Several CDs of his music for brass have been recorded by various groups on the Doyen label;
- Gregson 1
- Gregson 2
- Gregson 3
- Gregson 4 The Trumpets of the Angels
- Halle Brass plays Gregson
- Edward Gregson Wind Music
Works
- 1966 - In The Beginning
- 1967 - Quintet for Brass
- 1968 - Music for Chamber Orchestra
- 1968 - March Prelude
- 1971 - Horn Concerto
- 1971 - Horn Concerto (wind ensemble version)
- 1976 - Tuba Concerto (orchestral version)
- 1976 - Tuba Concerto (brass band version)
- 1976 - Tuba Concerto (wind orchestral version)
- 1978 - Flourish for Orchestra
- 1979 - Metamorphoses
- 1979 - Trombone Concerto
- 1982 - Six Little Piano Pieces
- 1983 - Contrasts - a concerto for orchestra
- 1983 - Equale Dances
- 1983 - Piano Sonata in one movement
- 1983 - Trumpet Concerto
- 1984 - Dances and Arias
- 1984 - Sonata for Four Trombones
- 1985 - Festivo
- 1986 - Occasion
- 1987 - Missa Brevis Pacem
- 1988 - Make A Joyful Noise
- 1992 - Of Men and Mountains
- 1994 - Clarinet Concerto
- 1997 - A Welcome Ode
- 1999 - The Dance, forever the Dance
- 2006 - Saxophone Concerto
- 2007 - Cello Concerto
- 2009 - Dream Song
- 2009 - Goddess
- 2009 - Tributes
External links
- Official website with list of works, discography and sound samples
- Edward Gregon's homepage at Novello & Co