Roger Wright (music administrator) - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

For the American concert pianist, see Roger Wright
Roger Wright
Roger Robinson Wright III is an American classical concert pianist. He is also a Scrabble player who won the United States National Scrabble Championship in 2004.-Early life and musical training:...

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Roger Wright (born 1956, Manchester

Manchester

Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...

) is an English radio administrator and arts administrator. He is currently the Controller of BBC Radio 3

BBC Radio 3

BBC Radio 3 is a national radio station operated by the BBC within the United Kingdom. Its output centres on classical music and opera, but jazz, world music, drama, culture and the arts also feature. The station is the world’s most significant commissioner of new music, and its New Generation...

and Director of The Proms

The Proms

The Proms, more formally known as The BBC Proms, or The Henry Wood Promenade Concerts presented by the BBC, is an eight-week summer season of daily orchestral classical music concerts and other events held annually, predominantly in the Royal Albert Hall in London...

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Wright was educated at Chetham's School, Manchester, and played the cello

Cello

The cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...

as a youth. He studied music at Royal Holloway College, University of London

University of London

-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...

, and earned a B.Mus. in 1977. On graduation, he took a sabbatical year, 1977-78, as the elected President of the Student Union

Student union

Student union may refer to:* Students' union, or student government in the U.S., a student organization at many colleges and universities dedicated to student governance...

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From 1978 to 1987, Wright worked at the British Music Information Centre, as librarian and manager, then as director. He served as a senior producer for the BBC Symphony Orchestra

BBC Symphony Orchestra

The BBC Symphony Orchestra is the principal broadcast orchestra of the British Broadcasting Corporation and one of the leading orchestras in Britain.-History:...

from 1987 to 1989. He became the artistic administrator of The Cleveland Orchestra

Cleveland Orchestra

The Cleveland Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Cleveland, Ohio. It is one of the five American orchestras informally referred to as the "Big Five". Founded in 1918, the orchestra plays most of its concerts at Severance Hall...

in 1989. He left his Cleveland post in 1992 for Deutsche Grammophon

Deutsche Grammophon

Deutsche Grammophon is a German classical record label which was the foundation of the future corporation to be known as PolyGram. It is now part of Universal Music Group since its acquisition and absorption of PolyGram in 1999, and it is also UMG's oldest active label...

(DG), where he became an executive director and vice-president, and worked there until 1997.

In March 1997, Wright took up the newly created BBC

BBC

The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...

post of Head of Classical Music, in charge of the BBC's orchestras, choirs, and bands. In 1998, he became Controller of Radio 3. During his Radio 3 tenure he raised the profile of jazz

Jazz

Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...

and world music

World music

World music is a term with widely varying definitions, often encompassing music which is primarily identified as another genre. This is evidenced by world music definitions such as "all of the music in the world" or "somebody else's local music"...

, causing controversy among listeners. Other Radio 3 programming changes such as a perceived diminution of live music broadcasts have also attracted controversy. Wright was named Director of the BBC Proms in April 2007 and formally took up the post in October 2007, succeeding Nicholas Kenyon

Nicholas Kenyon

Sir Nicholas Roger Kenyon CBE is an English music administrator, editor and writer on music. He was responsible for the BBC Proms 1996-2007 following which he was appointed Managing Director of the Barbican Centre, Europe's largest multi-arts centre.-Education and career:After attending St Bede's...

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In 2002, Wright was awarded an Honorary Fellowship of Royal Holloway College. He is also an Honorary Fellow of 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...

and a Fellow of the Radio Academy

Radio Academy

The Radio Academy is a registered charity that is dedicated to 'the encouragement, recognition and promotion of excellence in UK broadcasting and audio production'....

. His publications include the volume New Music 1989, in collaboration with Michael Finnissy

Michael Finnissy

Michael Finnissy is an English composer and pianist. His music is characterised by the range of extremes often found in his work; opposing binary structures are found commonly, often seen as juxtaposing textures, register and tempi...

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Wright and his wife Rosie, a yoga teacher, have two children, Alice and William.

External links

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