Will Gregory
Encyclopedia
William Owen Gregory is best known as a songwriter, and the lead keyboards
/synthesizer
player & producer of the electronic
music group Goldfrapp
. Originally a classical music student at the University of York
, Gregory is the son of an actress and an opera chorus-line singer. In the 1980s and 1990s he performed with artists including Tears for Fears
, Peter Gabriel
, The Cure
as well as fellow Bristolians Portishead, along with playing oboe for Tori Amos
and recording with Paula Rae Gibson
. In 1999, vocalist Alison Goldfrapp
and Gregory formed the group Goldfrapp, a collaboration that has led to international critical and commercial success on the music charts.
Will Gregory is also a saxophonist. He has played with the Apollo Saxophone Quartet, Spiritualized
, Michael Nyman
and as part of the saxophone section of the London Sinfonietta
for the 1991 production of John Adams's opera Nixon in China in Paris. He is credited on Portishead's album Third
for the tracks Magic Doors and Threads.
Gregory's first opera, Piccard in Space, premiered at the Queen Elizabeth Hall
in London on 31 March 2011. The libretto, by Hattie Naylor, focuses on Auguste Piccard
's first balloon assent with his assistant Paul Kipfer, and on the theories of Albert Einstein
and Isaac Newton
, who both appear as characters in the drama. The reviews were generally hostile.
Keyboard instrument
A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
/synthesizer
Synthesizer
A synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
player & producer of the electronic
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
music group Goldfrapp
Goldfrapp
Goldfrapp are an English electronic music duo, formed in 1999 in London, England, that consists of Alison Goldfrapp and Will Gregory ....
. Originally a classical music student at the University of York
University of York
The University of York , is an academic institution located in the city of York, England. Established in 1963, the campus university has expanded to more than thirty departments and centres, covering a wide range of subjects...
, Gregory is the son of an actress and an opera chorus-line singer. In the 1980s and 1990s he performed with artists including Tears for Fears
Tears for Fears
Tears for Fears are an English new wave band formed in the early 1980s by Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith.Founded after the dissolution of their first band, the mod-influenced Graduate, they were initially associated with the New Wave synthesiser bands of the early 1980s but later branched out into...
, Peter Gabriel
Peter Gabriel
Peter Brian Gabriel is an English singer, musician, and songwriter who rose to fame as the lead vocalist and flautist of the progressive rock group Genesis. After leaving Genesis, Gabriel went on to a successful solo career...
, The Cure
The Cure
The Cure are an English rock band formed in Crawley, West Sussex in 1976. The band has experienced several line-up changes, with frontman, vocalist, guitarist and principal songwriter Robert Smith being the only constant member...
as well as fellow Bristolians Portishead, along with playing oboe for Tori Amos
Tori Amos
Tori Amos is an American pianist, singer-songwriter and composer. She was at the forefront of a number of female singer-songwriters in the early 1990s and was noteworthy early in her career as one of the few alternative rock performers to use a piano as her primary instrument...
and recording with Paula Rae Gibson
Paula Rae Gibson
Paula Rae Gibson is a photographer, singer-songwriter and filmmaker. She is the widow of film director Brian Gibson and has one daughter.-Work:...
. In 1999, vocalist Alison Goldfrapp
Alison Goldfrapp
Alison Elizabeth Margaret Goldfrapp is an English singer-songwriter and record producer, best known as the lead singer of the electronic music duo Goldfrapp. Goldfrapp has a soprano vocal range.-Early life:...
and Gregory formed the group Goldfrapp, a collaboration that has led to international critical and commercial success on the music charts.
Will Gregory is also a saxophonist. He has played with the Apollo Saxophone Quartet, Spiritualized
Spiritualized
Spiritualized are an English space rock band formed in 1990 in Rugby, Warwickshire by Jason Pierce after the demise of his previous outfit, space-rockers Spacemen 3...
, Michael Nyman
Michael Nyman
Michael Laurence Nyman, CBE is an English composer of minimalist music, pianist, librettist and musicologist, known for the many film scores he wrote during his lengthy collaboration with the filmmaker Peter Greenaway, and his multi-platinum soundtrack album to Jane Campion's The Piano...
and as part of the saxophone section of the London Sinfonietta
London Sinfonietta
The London Sinfonietta is an English chamber orchestra founded in 1968 and based in London. The ensemble specialises in contemporary music and works across a wide range of genres, performing modern classics alongside world premieres, and includes music by electronica artists as well as folk and...
for the 1991 production of John Adams's opera Nixon in China in Paris. He is credited on Portishead's album Third
Third (Portishead album)
Third is the third studio album by English musical group Portishead, released on 27 April 2008, on Island Records in the United Kingdom, two days after on Mercury Records in the United States, and on 30 April 2008 on Universal Music Japan in Japan. It is their first release in 10 years, and their...
for the tracks Magic Doors and Threads.
Gregory's first opera, Piccard in Space, premiered at the Queen Elizabeth Hall
Queen Elizabeth Hall
The Queen Elizabeth Hall is a music venue on the South Bank in London, United Kingdom that hosts daily classical, jazz, and avant-garde music and dance performances. The QEH forms part of Southbank Centre arts complex and stands alongside the Royal Festival Hall, which was built for the Festival...
in London on 31 March 2011. The libretto, by Hattie Naylor, focuses on Auguste Piccard
Auguste Piccard
Auguste Antoine Piccard was a Swiss physicist, inventor and explorer.-Biography:Piccard and his twin brother Jean Felix were born in Basel, Switzerland...
's first balloon assent with his assistant Paul Kipfer, and on the theories of Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein was a German-born theoretical physicist who developed the theory of general relativity, effecting a revolution in physics. For this achievement, Einstein is often regarded as the father of modern physics and one of the most prolific intellects in human history...
and Isaac Newton
Isaac Newton
Sir Isaac Newton PRS was an English physicist, mathematician, astronomer, natural philosopher, alchemist, and theologian, who has been "considered by many to be the greatest and most influential scientist who ever lived."...
, who both appear as characters in the drama. The reviews were generally hostile.