Richard Shephard
Encyclopedia
Richard Shephard is a composer
, former educator, and Director of Development and Chamberlain of York Minster
. He is acclaimed as one of the most significant composers of church music
today.
, where the organist was then the composer Herbert Sumsion
before taking a degree at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge
. While at Cambridge, Shephard studied under composer David Willcocks, Hugh MacDonald
, the great expert on Berlioz, and Alan Ridout. He started his musical career as a lay clerk
in Salisbury Cathedral Choir
, and at this time was Conductor of the Salisbury Grand Opera Group, the Farrant Singers, Guest Conductor of the Salisbury Orchestral Society and Musical Director of various productions at the Salisbury Playhouse
. It was at this time when he was greatly influenced by Richard Seal
and Lionel Dakers
, the former director of the Royal School of Church Music
. An article published in 1987 in the Musical Times by Dakers,The RSCM: Past, Present...and Future, states that "Our policy is to provide music of quality and interest for every contingency which can then be absorbed into a choir's working repertory. Aston, Oxley, How, Shephard, and Sumsion feature in our catalogue because they measure up to these needs, produce what we want and what we can consequently sell in large numbers." Years later, in 2000, Shephard and Dakers would both contribute to The IAO Millennium Book, Thirteen essays About the Organ, a publication which comprises contemporary writings related to the organ and written by distinguished composers of the day. Shephard's article was entitled Composing for the Church today, in which he discussed current demands on church music composers in the 20th century. His first opera, The Turncoat was composed for the Salisbury International Arts Festival
.
As a composer, he has written operas, operettas, musicals, orchestral works, music for television, and chamber music
but is perhaps best known for his choral works which are sung extensively around the world today, especially in churches and cathedrals in England
and America
. His compositions are frequently broadcast in the United Kingdom
.
Shephard has received commissions from numerous associations including the Three Choirs Festival
, the Southern Cathedrals Festival
, Woodard Schools
, the Goldsmiths' Company and the Ryedale Festival. He is a Visiting Fellow
at York University
's music department and a Visiting Professor in the Music department of the University of the South, Sewanee
; he has received honorary doctorates from both. For his "outstanding contribution to church music" he was awarded a Lambeth degree
in music, and, in 2009, was granted Freedom of the City
of York. Recently, he has had a place on the "Archbishop's Commission on Church Music" and on the "Church Music Commission on Cathedrals". Shephard is also a Fellow of the Royal School of Church Music
, the highest honour which the RSCM offer.
In November 2009, Shephard was commissioned to write a piece for the commemoration of Henry Purcell
's three hundred and fiftieth birthday by The National Centre of Early Music
, Ode on the 350th Birthday of Mr Henry Purcell. The piece was performed in the Royal Albert Hall
by five hundred school children who make up the Scunthorpe Co-operative Junior Choir
which won the BBC Radio 3 Choir of the Year in 2008. Howard Goodall
co-hosted the event.
In 1999 Shephard received a commission to write for the York Mystery Plays Millennium and in 2008 he coauthored York Minster: A Living Legacy with the Dean of York
, Keith Jones
, and Louise Ann Hampson.
. In 1985, he moved to York
, becoming headmaster of York Minster School and Chamberlain of York Minster
. He remained headmaster of the school until 2004 when he stepped down, and is now Director of Development at York Minster, coordinating fundraising. He is still Chamberlain, in this role he serves as cantor
at evensong
and mattins, leading the responses.
Magnificat & Nunc Dimittis, for:
Anthems
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...
, former educator, and Director of Development and Chamberlain of York Minster
York Minster
York Minster is a Gothic cathedral in York, England and is one of the largest of its kind in Northern Europe alongside Cologne Cathedral. The minster is the seat of the Archbishop of York, the second-highest office of the Church of England, and is the cathedral for the Diocese of York; it is run by...
. He is acclaimed as one of the most significant composers of church music
Church music
Church music may be defined as music written for performance in church, or any musical setting of ecclestiacal liturgy, or music set to words expressing propositions of a sacred nature, such as a hymn. This article covers music in the Judaeo-Christian tradition. For sacred music outside this...
today.
Education and musical career
Shephard was a chorister at Gloucester CathedralGloucester Cathedral
Gloucester Cathedral, or the Cathedral Church of St Peter and the Holy and Indivisible Trinity, in Gloucester, England, stands in the north of the city near the river. It originated in 678 or 679 with the foundation of an abbey dedicated to Saint Peter .-Foundations:The foundations of the present...
, where the organist was then the composer Herbert Sumsion
Herbert Sumsion
Herbert Whitton Sumsion was an English musician who was organist of Gloucester Cathedral from 1928 to 1967...
before taking a degree at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge
Corpus Christi College, Cambridge
Corpus Christi College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. It is notable as the only college founded by Cambridge townspeople: it was established in 1352 by the Guilds of Corpus Christi and the Blessed Virgin Mary...
. While at Cambridge, Shephard studied under composer David Willcocks, Hugh MacDonald
Hugh MacDonald
Hugh MacDonald may refer to:* Hugh MacDonald , Canadian poet* Hugh MacDonald , 18th century Roman Catholic bishop* Hugh MacDonald , 19th century Roman Catholic bishop...
, the great expert on Berlioz, and Alan Ridout. He started his musical career as a lay clerk
Lay clerk
A lay clerk, also known as a lay vicar, song man or a vicar choral, is a professional adult singer in a Cathedral or collegiate choir in the United Kingdom. The Vicars Choral were substitutes for the Canons...
in Salisbury Cathedral Choir
Salisbury Cathedral Choir
The Choir of Salisbury Cathedral exists to sing services in Salisbury Cathedral and has probably been in existence since consecration in 1258.The choir comprises sixteen boy choristers and sixteen girl choristers aged between 8 - 13 years and six professional Lay Vicars singing countertenor, tenor...
, and at this time was Conductor of the Salisbury Grand Opera Group, the Farrant Singers, Guest Conductor of the Salisbury Orchestral Society and Musical Director of various productions at the Salisbury Playhouse
Salisbury Playhouse
Salisbury Playhouse is a theatre in the county of Wiltshire, it was built in 1976 and has two theatre spaces – the Main House and Salberg Studio ....
. It was at this time when he was greatly influenced by Richard Seal
Richard Seal
Richard Godfrey Seal is an English organist and conductor, who served from 1968-1997 as organist and master of the choristers at Salisbury Cathedral.-Biography:...
and Lionel Dakers
Lionel Frederick Dakers
Lionel Frederick Dakers was an English cathedral organist, who served in Ripon Cathedral and Exeter Cathedral.-Background:Lionel Frederick Dakers was born on 24 February 1924 in Rochester, Kent...
, the former director of the Royal School of Church Music
Royal School of Church Music
The largest church music organisation in Britain, the Royal School of Church Music was founded in 1927 by Sir Sydney Nicholson and has 11,000 members worldwide; it was originally named the School of English Church Music. It seeks to enable church music in the present and invest in its future,...
. An article published in 1987 in the Musical Times by Dakers,The RSCM: Past, Present...and Future, states that "Our policy is to provide music of quality and interest for every contingency which can then be absorbed into a choir's working repertory. Aston, Oxley, How, Shephard, and Sumsion feature in our catalogue because they measure up to these needs, produce what we want and what we can consequently sell in large numbers." Years later, in 2000, Shephard and Dakers would both contribute to The IAO Millennium Book, Thirteen essays About the Organ, a publication which comprises contemporary writings related to the organ and written by distinguished composers of the day. Shephard's article was entitled Composing for the Church today, in which he discussed current demands on church music composers in the 20th century. His first opera, The Turncoat was composed for the Salisbury International Arts Festival
Salisbury International Arts Festival
Salisbury International Arts Festival is an annual multi-arts festival that delivers over 120 arts events each year, including concerts, comedy, poetry, dance, exhibitions, outdoor spectacles, and commissioned works....
.
As a composer, he has written operas, operettas, musicals, orchestral works, music for television, and chamber music
Chamber music
Chamber music is a form of classical music, written for a small group of instruments which traditionally could be accommodated in a palace chamber. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small number of performers with one performer to a part...
but is perhaps best known for his choral works which are sung extensively around the world today, especially in churches and cathedrals in 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...
and America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. His compositions are frequently broadcast in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
.
Shephard has received commissions from numerous associations including the Three Choirs Festival
Three Choirs Festival
The Three Choirs Festival is a music festival held each August alternately at the cathedrals of the Three Counties and originally featuring their three choirs, which remain central to the week-long programme...
, the Southern Cathedrals Festival
Southern Cathedrals Festival
The Southern Cathedrals Festival is the bringing together of the choirs of Chichester Cathedral, Winchester Cathedral and Salisbury Cathedral in the penultimate weekend of July...
, Woodard Schools
Woodard Schools
Woodard Schools is a group of Anglican schools affiliated to the Woodard Corporation which has its origin in the work of Nathaniel Woodard, an Anglo-Catholic clergyman....
, the Goldsmiths' Company and the Ryedale Festival. He is a Visiting Fellow
Visiting fellow
A visiting fellow is an academic, often a senior academic, who is undertaking research at a different institution than his or her main institution for a limited period of time, often but not necessarily at a foreign institution. A visiting fellow can be paid or unpaid; sometimes the salary is paid...
at York University
York University
York University is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's third-largest university, Ontario's second-largest graduate school, and Canada's leading interdisciplinary university....
's music department and a Visiting Professor in the Music department of the University of the South, Sewanee
Sewanee
Sewanee may refer to:* Sewanee, Tennessee* Sewanee: The University of the South* Sewanee Review* Sewanee Natural Bridge* Saint Andrews-Sewanee School-See also:* Suwanee * Suwannee * Swanee...
; he has received honorary doctorates from both. For his "outstanding contribution to church music" he was awarded a Lambeth degree
Lambeth degree
A Lambeth degree is an academic degree conferred by the Archbishop of Canterbury under the authority of the Ecclesiastical Licences Act 1533 as successor of the papal legate in England...
in music, and, in 2009, was granted Freedom of the City
Freedom of the City
Freedom of the City is an honour bestowed by some municipalities in Australia, Canada, Ireland, France, Italy, New Zealand, South Africa, Spain, the United Kingdom, Gibraltar and Rhodesia to esteemed members of its community and to organisations to be honoured, often for service to the community;...
of York. Recently, he has had a place on the "Archbishop's Commission on Church Music" and on the "Church Music Commission on Cathedrals". Shephard is also a Fellow of the Royal School of Church Music
Royal School of Church Music
The largest church music organisation in Britain, the Royal School of Church Music was founded in 1927 by Sir Sydney Nicholson and has 11,000 members worldwide; it was originally named the School of English Church Music. It seeks to enable church music in the present and invest in its future,...
, the highest honour which the RSCM offer.
In November 2009, Shephard was commissioned to write a piece for the commemoration of Henry Purcell
Henry Purcell
Henry Purcell – 21 November 1695), was an English organist and Baroque composer of secular and sacred music. Although Purcell incorporated Italian and French stylistic elements into his compositions, his legacy was a uniquely English form of Baroque music...
's three hundred and fiftieth birthday by The National Centre of Early Music
National Centre for Early Music
The National Centre for Early Music is an educational resource located in York, England. It is based in the converted and extended medieval church of St Margaret, Walmgate....
, Ode on the 350th Birthday of Mr Henry Purcell. The piece was performed in the Royal Albert Hall
Royal Albert Hall
The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall situated on the northern edge of the South Kensington area, in the City of Westminster, London, England, best known for holding the annual summer Proms concerts since 1941....
by five hundred school children who make up the Scunthorpe Co-operative Junior Choir
Scunthorpe Co-operative Junior Choir
Scunthorpe Co-operative Junior Choir is a choir from Scunthorpe, England, currently conducted by Sue Hollingworth, the 2010 winner of the Gramophone Magazine inaugural Music in the Community The Chormaster's Prize award...
which won the BBC Radio 3 Choir of the Year in 2008. Howard Goodall
Howard Goodall
210px|thumb|Howard Goodall at St. John the Baptist Church in Devon, United Kingdom, May 2009Howard Lindsay Goodall CBE is a British composer of musicals, choral music and music for television...
co-hosted the event.
In 1999 Shephard received a commission to write for the York Mystery Plays Millennium and in 2008 he coauthored York Minster: A Living Legacy with the Dean of York
Dean of York
The Dean of York is the member of the clergy who is responsible for the running of the York Minster cathedral.-11th–12th centuries:* 1093–c.1135: Hugh* c.1138–1143: William of Sainte-Barbe...
, Keith Jones
Keith Jones (clergyman)
Keith Jones is an Anglican priest. He is the current Dean of York and a former Dean of Exeter in the Church of England. He was installed in his current post in June 2004 after being the Dean of Exeter from 1996.-Early life and education:...
, and Louise Ann Hampson.
Career in education
As well as Shephard's prolific musical career, he has also had a career in education. For a number of years Shephard worked as a member of staff at Salisbury Cathedral SchoolSalisbury Cathedral School
Salisbury Cathedral School is a school located in Salisbury, Wiltshire, England. It was founded in 1091 by Saint Osmund at Old Sarum . It was moved 150 years later to the newly built Salisbury Cathedral. In 1947 it was relocated to the former Bishop's Palace in the grounds of the cathedral. The...
. In 1985, he moved to York
York
York is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...
, becoming headmaster of York Minster School and Chamberlain of York Minster
York Minster
York Minster is a Gothic cathedral in York, England and is one of the largest of its kind in Northern Europe alongside Cologne Cathedral. The minster is the seat of the Archbishop of York, the second-highest office of the Church of England, and is the cathedral for the Diocese of York; it is run by...
. He remained headmaster of the school until 2004 when he stepped down, and is now Director of Development at York Minster, coordinating fundraising. He is still Chamberlain, in this role he serves as cantor
Cantor (church)
A cantor is the chief singer employed in a church with responsibilities for the ecclesiastical choir; also called the precentor....
at evensong
Evening Prayer (Anglican)
Evening Prayer is a liturgy in use in the Anglican Communion and celebrated in the late afternoon or evening...
and mattins, leading the responses.
Choral
Eucharistic settings:- The Addington Service
- The Wiltshire Service
- Gloucester Cathedral
- Tisbury Service
- The Woodard Service
Magnificat & Nunc Dimittis, for:
- Salisbury Cathedral
- Hereford Cathedral
- Liverpool Cathedral
- Lionel Dakers in memoriam
- Llandaff Cathedral
- Gloucester Cathedral
Anthems
- Let us now praise famous men
- Ye choirs of new Jerusalem
- The strife is o’er
- O for a thousand tongues
- Last verses
- Never weather beaten sail
- Jesu dulcis memoria
- The birds
- Prayer for a new mother
- We give immortal praise
- And when the builders
- Open for me the gates of righteousness
- Adam lay y-bounden
- Who shall ascend
- Te Deum
- Jubilate Deo (for the celebrations on the 450th anniversary of the founding of Christ College, BreconChrist College, BreconChrist College, Brecon is a co-educational, boarding and day independent school, located in the market town of Brecon in mid-Wales. It caters for pupils from eleven to eighteen.Christ College was founded by Royal Charter in 1541 by King Henry VIII...
)
Opera
- The Turncoat
- The Dove and the Eagle
- Caedmon
- Good King Wenceslas
- The Shepherds’ Play
- St Nicholas
Musicals
- All for Alice
- The Phantom Tollbooth
- Wind in the Willows
- Pride and Prejudice
- Solemn Parody
- Ernest
- A Christmas Carol
- Eek!
Orchestral
- Overture – Mayday
- The Musicians of Bremen
- Six Shakespeare Songs
- Guildhall March
Oratorio
- Jonah
- Requiem
- St Luke Passion
- There Was Such Beauty
- Christmas cantata
- Purcell birthday cantata (for the Albert Hall Schools Prom 2009)
External links
- Richard Shephard's Compositions, August 2009.
- http://www.sjmp.com (St. James Music Press)