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Alan J. Wilson (born 1947) is a British composer of church music.
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Alan J. Wilson (born 1947) is a British composer of church music.
He was born in 1947, in Eastwood, Nottinghamshire, UK.
He won a scholarship to the Royal College of Music. He studied piano with Phyllis Sellick, harpsichord with Dr. Thorntam Lofthouse, and composition with John Lambert. He attended composition masterclasses with Nadia Boulanger. He went on to study at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam, where he studied keyboard with Gustav Leonhardt. [1]
From 1974 to 1986 he was Director of Music at the Church of Christ the King, Bloomsbury, for which he wrote many choral works. In 1976, he became Director of Music at Queen Mary College, University of London. There, he composed 'The Palace of Delights' and 'The Harmony of the Spheres.' He conducted research to restore and edit songs from the Queen Mary College, including the 'Westfield Songbook,' and set writings of Constance Louisa Maynard to music, including 'The Downs' as well as several poems and hymns.
In 1986, he became Organist and Director of Music at the Bow Bells Church of St. Mary-le-Bow, London. There, he researched music by William Babell and John Stanley and composed '2015 Requiem.' During his tenure, Alan advised on the design, construction, and tonal finishing of the Kenneth Tickell organ, installed in 2010.
He retired from Queen Mary College, University of London in 2013, and St. Mary-le-Bow in 2018. He was elected Chairman of the D.H. Lawrence Society. In 2020, Wilson adapted Lawrence's first novel 'The White Peacock' in collaboration with Malcolm Gray, called 'The Voice of Nethermere'. In 2023, Wilson composed a musical setting to Lawrence's poems on trees.
He was the Director of Music at Holy Trinity Church, Eltham, London. He produced many recordings and worked extensively for this church. He retired in January, 2026.
He has used synthesizers in classical music in pieces including the 'Norwich Mass' and 'Norwich Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis', written for the Norwich Festival of Contemporary Church Music. [1] They were published by Weinberger along with a commissioned work for Christ Church Cathedral, Indianapolis.
Wilson has has directed and also composed and arranged compositions for broadcasting services, mainly the BBC Daily Service, . [2]
Wilson's Mass of Light was performed in 2010 at St George's Cathedral, Cape Town. [3]
He has received frequent invitations from the heads of dioceses in Germany to run workshops, (for example, at the Wolfsburg Catholic Conference Centre in the diocese of Essen), mainly using his own, often new works. His Magnificat, from 'Christus Rex', [4] is a major performed work in Germany and appears in 'Freiburger Chorbuch,' other works. [5]
As well as being a recital organist, he has worked in mainstream ensembles as a harpsichordist. He was in the Consort of Musicke and performed with Emma Kirkby and Anthony Rooley. [6]
He received an honorary Associate award from the Royal School of Church Music in Durham Cathedral in May 2010, for his work for the RSCM, and his work as a church composer. [7]
During his lifetime Wilson produced a number of CD's including; Music at Christ the King, Canticles at Christ the King, Cantate Domino, Inspired by Bells, Lord of all Life, Where the Clock Tower stands in the Mile End Road, Queen Mary and Westfield - a literary and musical celebration, Turn again (music from St. Mary-le-Bow), and the 2015 Requiem.
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