Stephen Layton

Last updated

Stephen David Layton MBE (born 23 December 1966) is an English conductor.

Contents

Biography

Layton was raised in Derby, where his father was a church organist. He was a chorister at Winchester Cathedral, and subsequently won scholarships to Eton College and then King's College, Cambridge as an organ scholar under Stephen Cleobury. [1]

Whilst studying at Cambridge, Layton founded the mixed-voice choir Polyphony in 1986. [2] He was appointed the musical director of the Holst Singers in 1993, replacing Hilary Davan Wetton, who had founded the group in 1978. Layton has been assistant organist at Southwark Cathedral, and musical director of Wokingham Choral Society. From 1997, he was organist and subsequently director of music at the Temple Church. From 1999 to 2004, he was chief conductor of the Netherlands Chamber Choir. From 2000 to 2012 he was chief guest conductor of the Danish National Vocal Ensemble. From 2006 to 2023, he was director of music at Trinity College, Cambridge. [1] [3] In November 2009, the City of London Sinfonia announced the appointment of Layton as its second artistic director, effective with the 2010–2011 season, with the title of principal conductor. [4]

Layton has premiered new works and recordings by a number of composers, including Arvo Pärt, Thomas Adès, Jaakko Mäntyjärvi and James MacMillan. His realisation of John Tavener's The Veil of the Temple was premiered in 2003 at the Temple Church London. It was subsequently performed in 2004 at the Royal Albert Hall during the BBC Proms, and in the Avery Fisher Hall, New York, as part of the Lincoln Center Festival. [3]

Stephen Layton's discography on Hyperion [5] ranges from Handel and Bach with original instruments to Arvo Pärt, Paweł Łukaszewski, Lauridsen, Whitacre and Ēriks Ešenvalds. Recordings with Polyphony include Gabriel Jackson, [6] Paweł Łukaszewski, [7] Francis Poulenc, [8] John Tavener, [9] and Ẽriks Ešenvalds. [10] With the Trinity College Choir, a notable recording is of work by the Finnish composer Jaakko Mäntyjärvi, including the specially written Trinity Service (2019). [11]

He has received two Gramophone Awards in the UK and the Diapason d'Or in France, the Echo Deutscher Musikpreis in Germany, the Compact Award in Spain, and four Grammy nominations in the USA. [12] [13]

Layton was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2020 Birthday Honours for services to classical music. [14]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Morten Lauridsen</span> American composer

Morten Johannes Lauridsen is an American composer and academic teacher. A National Medal of Arts recipient (2007), he was composer-in-residence of the Los Angeles Master Chorale from 1994 to 2001, and is the distinguished professor emeritus of composition at the University of Southern California Thornton School of Music, where he taught for fifty-two years until his retirement in 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stephen Cleobury</span> English organist and conductor (1948–2019)

Sir Stephen John Cleobury was an English organist and music director. He worked with the Choir of King's College, Cambridge, where he served as music director from 1982 to 2019, and with the BBC Singers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">City of London Sinfonia</span> English chamber orchestra

City of London Sinfonia (CLS) is an English chamber orchestra based in London. CLS is orchestra-in-residence at Opera Holland Park since 2004 and holds a residency at St Paul's Cathedral. CLS also performs regularly across the city of London in venues from East London clubs to traditional Central London concert halls. It is a registered charity under English law. CLS performs chamber orchestra and ensemble repertoire from the Baroque period to the present day, and has a programming focus on the human voice.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Choir of King's College, Cambridge</span> English Anglican choir

The Choir of King's College, Cambridge is an English Anglican choir. It was created by King Henry VI, who founded King's College, Cambridge, in 1441, to provide daily singing in his Chapel, which remains the main task of the choir to this day.

Andrew Carwood is the Director of Music at St Paul's Cathedral in London and director of his own group, The Cardinall's Musick.

Stephen Mark Darlington is a British choral director, organist and conductor who served as Director of Music at Christ Church, Oxford, from 1985 to 2018. He is currently interim Director of Music at St John's College, Cambridge. His brother is the conductor Jonathan Darlington.

Richard Kenneth Marlow was an English choral conductor and organist.

The Choir of Trinity College, Cambridge is a mixed choir whose primary function is to sing choral services in the Tudor chapel of Trinity College, Cambridge. In January 2011, Gramophone named the choir the fifth best choir in the world.

James Anthony O'Donnell is a British organist, choral conductor and academic teacher who has been a professor of organ at the Yale Institute of Sacred Music in Connecticut, United States, since 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Choir of St John's College, Cambridge</span> Collegiate choir

The Choir of St John's College, Cambridge is part of the English cathedral tradition, having been founded to sing the daily liturgy in the College Chapel, though it is set apart from other English choirs of this tradition by the frequent inclusion of Continental works in its repertoire and its emphasis on polyphonic interpretations. Alongside the choir of King's College, Cambridge, it is one of the two most famous collegiate choirs in Cambridge, having had over 90 recordings published. The choir consists of fifteen Choral Scholars and twenty Choristers and Probationers, all of whom are members of St John's College, many of whom have proceeded to become distinguished musicians.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paweł Łukaszewski</span> Polish composer

Paweł Łukaszewski is a Polish composer of contemporary classical music. He has won seven prestigious Fryderyk Awards. According to David Wordsworth, Łukaszewski is the best-known Polish composer of his generation in and out of Poland "by far".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andrew Nethsingha</span> English conductor and organist (born 1968)

Andrew Mark Nethsingha, FRCO, ARCM is an English choral conductor and organist, the son of the late Lucian Nethsingha, also a cathedral organist. He was appointed Organist and Master of the Choristers at Westminster Abbey in London in 2023, having previous held similar positions at St John's College, Cambridge, Gloucester Cathedral and Truro Cathedral.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gloria (Rutter)</span>

John Rutter's Gloria is a musical setting of parts of the Latin Gloria. He composed it in 1974 on a commission from Mel Olson, and conducted the premiere in Omaha, Nebraska. He structured the text in three movements and scored it for choir, brass, percussion and organ, with an alternative version for choir and orchestra. It was published in 1976 by Oxford University Press.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Holst Singers</span>

The Holst Singers are an amateur choir based in London, England. The choir is named indirectly after the English composer Gustav Holst, taking its name from the Holst Room at St Paul's Girls' School, the venue for rehearsals during the choir's early years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Phillips (conductor)</span> British choral conductor and musicologist

Peter Phillips is a British choral conductor and musicologist. He is the founder of the Tallis Scholars as well as Gimell Records.

Meurig Bowen is a British arts administrator who works mainly in festival and orchestral programming. Since 2020 he has been Chief Executive and Artistic Director of the Britten Sinfonia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Uģis Prauliņš</span> Latvian composer

Uģis Prauliņš is a Latvian composer whose choral work Missa Rigensis was recorded by the Choir of Trinity College, Cambridge, the Riga Cathedral Boys Choir, Youth Choir BALSIS and has been performed in several locations around the world, amongst those Canada, France, England.

Ralph Woodward is an English classical conductor, arranger and organist. His main focus is on conducting choirs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nunc dimittis (Pärt)</span> 2001 musical composition by Arvo Pärt

Arvo Pärt's Nunc dimittis is a setting of the Latin canticle Nunc dimittis for mixed choir a cappella, written in 2001. It was published by Universal Edition.

Ēriks Ešenvalds is a Latvian composer, mainly of choral music. From 2011 to 2013 he was Fellow Commoner in Creative Arts at Trinity College, University of Cambridge.

References

  1. 1 2 Nicholas Wroe (31 March 2006). "The polyphonic spree". The Guardian. Retrieved 18 April 2008.
  2. Porter Anderson (11 February 2007). "Choral Grammy: Singing Layton's praises". CNN. Retrieved 18 April 2008.
  3. 1 2 Wright, Steve. "Stephen Layton announces departure from Trinity College Cambridge". BBC Music Magazine. Retrieved 12 June 2023.
  4. "New Directions as CLS appoints new Artistic Director: City of London Sinfonia appoints Stephen Layton as Artistic Director and Principal Conductor. Michael Collins becomes Principal Conductor" (Press release). City of London Sinfonia. 19 November 2009. Retrieved 17 April 2010.
  5. Hyperion Records. "Polyphony".
  6. Stephen Pritchard (7 June 2009). "Classical CD releases". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 April 2010.
  7. Stephen Pritchard (5 April 2009). "Classical CD releases". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 April 2010.
  8. Andrew Clements (21 March 2008). "Poulenc: Gloria; Motets, Gritton/ Polyphony/ Britten Sinfonia/ Layton". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 April 2010.
  9. Edward Greenfield (10 September 2004). "Tavener: Schuon Hymnen; The Second Coming; Shunya; Butterfly Dreams; Birthday Sleep etc: Polyphony/ Layton". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 April 2010.
  10. Esenvalds, Eriks. "Passion & Resurrection & other choral works". Hyperion Records.
  11. Moody, Ivan. "Mäntyjärvi Choral Music". Gramophone. Retrieved 12 June 2023.
  12. Spahr, Wolfgang (10 July 2012). "German Echo Classical Award Winners Announced, To Be Honored October 14". Billboard . Retrieved 14 June 2024.
  13. "Stephen Layton". Grammy Awards . Retrieved 14 June 2024.
  14. "No. 63135". The London Gazette (Supplement). 10 October 2020. p. B19.
Cultural offices
Preceded by Musical Director, Holst Singers
1993–present
Succeeded by
incumbent
Preceded by Director of Music, Temple Church
1997–2006
Succeeded by
Preceded by Director of Music, Trinity College, Cambridge
2006–present
Succeeded by
incumbent
Preceded by Artistic Director and Principal Conductor, City of London Sinfonia
2010–2016
Succeeded by
(post vacant)