Nicholas O'Neill (composer)

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Nicholas O'Neill
Born (1970-04-01) 1 April 1970 (age 53)
Cheltenham
Genres Classical
Occupation(s) Composer, organist
Instrument(s) Organ
Website www.nicholasoneill.com

Nicholas O'Neill (born 1 April 1970) is an English composer, arranger, organist and choral director.

Contents

Biography

O'Neill attended The King's School, Gloucester, and was a chorister at Gloucester Cathedral under the direction of John Sanders. O'Neill went on to study music at Magdalen College, Oxford, where he was Organ Scholar, first under John Harper and then under Grayston "Bill" Ives.[ citation needed ]

O'Neill holds the posts of Composer in Residence to the Parliament Choir [1] and to the Academy of Saint Cecilia. [2] He is also President of Cantores Salicium, and associate director of Music at St. Mary Abbots Church, Kensington. He was Organist of St. George's Cathedral, Southwark, [3] until the end of 2010 and was Chorus Master to the Malcolm Sargent Festival Choir for a decade.

His music has been performed and broadcast internationally, his Missa Sancti Nicolai being chosen as the Mass setting for the BBC1 live television broadcast of Midnight Mass in 2011. His Christmas carol Sweet Was The Song was recorded by the BBC Singers in 2011 and featured in their Carols For Breakfast series, and his arrangement of This Joyful Eastertide featured as the Anthem on BBC Radio 4's The Daily Service in 2013 with the Choir of Exeter College, Oxford. He was subsequently invited to compose Flyht for Exeter College's 700th anniversary celebrations. [4] Flyht was recorded by the college choir and released on EM Records. [5] Other notable works include From Damascus for the London Oratory School Schola, Mermaid for Surrey Arts, Why Should We Not Sing? for the Lloyd George Society., [6] and against the pull of silence for string orchestra.

Awards

In the summer of 1992 his Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis on E was unanimously awarded first prize in the Norwich International Festival of Contemporary Church Music Composition Competition. In the following year his Quartet In Three Movements won the Gregynog Young Composers' Award, and his Ave Verum shared the Schola Cantorum's International Composition Competition Award in 1994. [7]

His Festive Voluntary was awarded the 2012 American Guild of Organists Marilyn Mason Award for Organ Composition, [8] in 2019 he won the commission competition for the 50th Anniversary Mayfield Festival, writing his Cantata Of Saint Dunstan, [9] and his Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis on Bb was awarded the Saint Fin Barre Cathedral, Cork Composition Prize early in 2020.

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<i>St Pauls Service</i> 1950 composition by Herbert Howells

The Magnificat and Nunc dimittis for St Paul's Cathedral, also known as the St Paul's Service, is a setting by the English composer Herbert Howells of the Magnificat and Nunc dimittis for the Anglican service of Evensong. Scored for four-part choir and organ, it was written in 1950 for St Paul's Cathedral in London.

<i>Gloucester Service</i> 1946 choral composition by Herbert Howells

The Magnificat and Nunc dimittis for Gloucester Cathedral, also known as the Gloucester Service, is a setting by the English composer Herbert Howells of the Magnificat and Nunc dimittis for the Anglican service of Evensong. Scored for four-part choir and organ, it was written in 1946 for Gloucester Cathedral. It was published by Novello in 1947.

<i>Magnificat and Nunc dimittis in D</i> (Wood) Choral setting of Magnificat and Nunc dimittis

Magnificat and Nunc dimittis in D is a choral setting by the Irish composer Charles Wood of the Magnificat and Nunc dimittis for the Anglican service of Evening Prayer. Scored for four-part choir and organ, it was written in 1898. It is also known as Evening Service in D major.

<i>Collegium Regale</i> Composition by Herbert Howells

Collegium Regale is a collection of choral settings by the English composer Herbert Howells of the canticles for the Anglican services of Mattins, Holy Communion and Evening Prayer. Scored for four-part choir, solo tenor and organ, the pieces were written between 1944 and 1956 "for the King's College, Cambridge". The first of the pieces were first published by Novello in 1947, and they have become a popular piece of music in the Anglican church music repertoire.

References

  1. ↑ "Conductors | The Parliament Choir". Parliamentchoir.org.uk. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
  2. ↑ "The Academy of St Cecilia - Members". Archived from the original on 1 December 2013. Retrieved 6 January 2013.
  3. ↑ "Organists Change Seats". Catholic Herald. 20 July 2001. Retrieved 6 January 2013.
  4. ↑ "Exeter College Alumni News March 2014". Exeter.ox.ac.uk. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
  5. ↑ "EM Records | Premières of Distinction | EMR CD021". Em-records.com. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
  6. ↑ "Plaid Cymru peer: Lloyd George knew my grandmother". BBC News. 21 January 2013. Retrieved 21 January 2013.
  7. ↑ "Children of our Time CDA67575 [GH]: Classical CD Reviews- May 2006 MusicWeb-International". Musicweb-international.com. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
  8. ↑ "AGO Marilyn Mason Composition Award Winners 2012". Agohq.org. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
  9. ↑ "Cantata of St Dunstan". Mayfieldfestival.co.uk. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
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