Will Todd

Will Todd (born January 14, 1970 in County Durham ) is an English classical music composer and pianist .

Life

Todd was born in County Durham , attended Durham School and joined the choir at St. Oswald's Church in Durham under his choirmaster, David Higgins. Then he studied music at Bristol University . He is an accomplished jazz pianist and performs regularly with his trio, which is of great importance for one of his most famous works, his Mass in Blue .

The Mass in Blue (original title: Jazz Mass) was premiered by the Hertfordshire Chorus at the Cambridge Corn Exchange in July 2003 with Will Todd on piano. Todd's wife Bethany Halliday sang the soprano solo in a performance by the Blue Planet Orchestra and Chorus Hertfordshire, conducted by David Tempel .

His The Blackened Man won second prize at the International Verdi Opera Competition in 2002 and was later performed at the 2004 Buxton Festival . The Screams of Kitty Genovese , a musical theater work, was performed at the Boston Conservatory and the New York Musical Theater Festival. His oratorio Saint Cuthbert , with a libretto by Ben Dunwell on the life of the saint, was performed and recorded by the Hallé Orchestra and Choir under the direction of Christopher Austin.

Among Angels was commissioned by the Genesis Foundation and premiered by The Sixteen in Salzburg. Written for the Welsh National Youth Opera , Sweetness and Badness was on tour in the fall of 2006, and Whirlwind , commissioned by Streetwise Opera , premiered at The Sage Gateshead .

Works

• Winter Dances - for orchestra (1989)
• Midwinter - Cantata for soprano and baritone , choir and orchestra (1992)
• Saint Cuthbert - oratorio for soprano, tenor and baritone, choir, organ and orchestra (1995)
• The Burning Road - Cantata for soprano, baritone, choir and orchestra (1996)
• The Screams of Kitty Genovese for twelve singing actors and small ensemble (1999)
• A Song of Creation - Cantata for choir, chamber choir, children's choir, soprano, tenor and bass , organ and orchestra (2000)
• The Blackened Man - opera with seven roles , choir and large orchestra or chamber orchestra (2001)
• Mass in Blue - for soprano, choir and jazz ensemble or trio (2003)
• Gala and Gloria - for soprano, mezzo-soprano , baritone, choir, orchestra and brass band (2004)
• Among Angels - 16 pieces for four-part choir with two harps (2006)
• Sweetness and Badness - Opera for five singing actors and small ensemble (2006)
• Whirlwind - Opera for four singing actors, mixed choir, small ensemble and live noises (2006)
• Let us be True - for four-part choir, solo violin , piano , organ, percussion and strings . Score of " Dover Beach " by Matthew Arnold (2006)
• You have seen the House Built - for four-part choir and organ, commissioned by the Chichester Cathedral to its 900 years of existence (2008)
• Requiem - for soprano, electric guitar and choir, commissioned by the Fairhaven Singers (2009), (version for soprano, tenor, organ and choir premiered in Dortmund in 2014 )
• Te Deum - for soprano solo, youth choir , four-part choir and instrumental ensemble. Latin text with additions by Ben Duwell (2009)
• Clarinet Concerto - for jazz clarinet and orchestra, premiered by Emma Johnson (2009)
• The Call of Wisdom - for four-part choir and organ. Commissioned as part of the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II for performance by the Diamond Choir (2012)
• Songs of Love - for four-part choir and jazz trio. Commissioned by the Symphony Silicon Valley Chorale for their concert on the occasion of their twenty-fifth anniversary (2012)

Web links

• Will Todd's homepage
• Press release: Oxford University Press: Diamond Jubilee anthem by Will Todd published with links to sites where The Call of Wisdom can be purchased.

Individual evidence

1. ^ Rheinische Post Düsseldorf, December 2, 2013
2. ^ Hertfordshire Chorus
3. ^ Rheinische Post Düsseldorf, December 2, 2013