Released on

Gabriel Jackson appointed as BBC Singers' new Associate Composer

We are pleased to announce that Gabriel Jackson is to become the BBC Singers' new Associate Composer starting from 2010. Jackson will be the third composer to take up the position, following in the footsteps of Judith Bingham, who has held the post since 2005, and Edward Cowie, who became the first BBC Singers Associate Composer in 2002.

A rising star on the choral music scene, Gabriel Jackson's music is performed by choirs all over the world. He already has a strong relationship with the BBC Singers, who have been performing his music for over a decade. His first commission for the group was Cecilia Virgo which it premiered in Canterbury Cathedral in October 2000.

Michael Emery the BBC Singers Producer says:
"I'm delighted that Gabriel is to be our next Associate Composer. We've known his music, in the Singers, for many years and have very much enjoyed performing it, especially the pieces written specifically for us. He's a composer with a huge sympathy for and expertise in vocal music, and I really look forward to seeing what choral wizardry he'll create for the BBC Singers over the next three years."

Gabriel Jackson says:
"I am thrilled and honoured to be invited to be the next Associate Composer to the BBC Singers. I have always been a huge fan of the Singers: it is one of the world's greatest choral groups and, as well as possessing flawless virtuosity and unrivalled ability to master the most demanding scores, which are too often taken for granted, the singers are great artists. I have always thoroughly enjoyed working with the Singers in the past and look forward to deepening that relationship and to exploring the rich musical possibilities our collaboration will offer. I know we can do some very exciting work together."

OUP Composers commissioned for The NMC Songbook

To mark its 20th anniversary, NMC Recordings have commissioned nearly 100 composers, including 8 OUP composers, to write a song loosely based on the theme of 'Britain' for inclusion in the brand new release: The NMC Songbook

NMC has entered the world of YouTube with its first vodcast. The vodcast opens with an extract from Howard Skempton's Silence on Ullswater and you can view it here.

A week of recitals consisting entirely of works in The NMC Songbook will take place at King's Place from Monday 30th March 2009 - Sunday 5th April 2009. Visit the King's Place website for more details.

David Wilde performs Jackson

Veteran concert pianist David Wilde will give the World Premiere of Gabriel Jackson's 'Piano Sonata' on Thursday 29 May at The Queen's Hall, Edinburgh.

Concert tickets can be purchased by booking online at The Queen's Hall or by phoning 0131 668 2019. Entrance is free for school children and music students.

More details can be found here.

John Tilbury performs Skempton

John Tilbury, the celebrated contemporary classical concert pianist, will perform the World Premiere of Howard Skempton's Notti stellate a Vagli on Tuesday 10 June 2008 at St. John's, Smith Square.

The piece is named after a 14th century Tuscany hamlet - Borgo di Vagli - the work of Fulvio Di Rosa, award-winning architect and founder of the Contemporary Classical Musical foundation Atopos, who commissioned the work.

The first half of the concert will be devoted to the piano works of Skempton. Concert tickets can be purchased by visiting The Box Office at St. John's, Smith Square (SJSS, London SW1P 3HA), booking online at www.sjss.org.uk or by phoning 020 72221061. Ticket prices for the concert, which will start at 7.00pm, are £12 and £8.

More details about this exciting venture can be found here.

Vaughan Williams and the English Hymnal

Kick-starting the celebrations to mark the 50 year anniversary of the death of Ralph Vaughan Williams is a spectacular event at the Turner Sims Concert Hall on Saturday 23rd February, 2008.

Ralph Vaughan Williams was the Music Editor of the English Hymnal, which first appeared in 1906. Its musical influence has been immense. As a tribute to Vaughan Williams fifty years after his death, singers and instrumentalists will play every tune in the book.

Following the Hymn Tune Marathon, the day will finish with a Celebrity Grand Finale. More details can be found here.

Recent CD releases

Click on the images below for more information.

Richard Causton wins Royal Philharmonic Society award

In a glittering ceremony at the Dorchester Hotel, London on 8 May, Richard won the coveted award in the category for Chamber-Scale Composition for his work, Phoenix.

The RPS awards honoured musicians, composers, writers, broadcasters and inspirational arts organisations for their work in 2006.

Guests at the ceremony were entertained by the Britten Sinfonia, who have also commissioned Richard for a new work later in 2007.

Here's what they had to say:

'Richard Causton's Phoenix is a piece that consolidates the qualities of this composer's recent music, its fastidious clarity and economy. But Phoenix also opens up a new expressive world, an emotional directness that Causton vividly conjures from a five-piece ensemble.'

Oxford University Press warmly congratulates Richard on this fantastic achievement.

The score and parts for Phoenix are available through the Oxford Contemporary Repertoire series.

More details of the RPS awards and winners of the evening can be found at the RPS website

New CD release from Martin Butler

14th May 2007 saw the release of a new recording of Martin Butler's music on the NMC label. Featuring the Schubert Ensemble and William Howard, American Rounds is a superb collection of pieces ranging from the chamber work of the same name to Funerailles - Butler's major new work for solo piano - and arrangements of two Scarlatti sonatas.

The Schubert Ensemble are long standing champions of Martin's music, commissioning two of the works on this CD and performing regularly throughout the UK.

More details of American Rounds can be found at NMC's website.

Launch of Oxford Contemporary Repertoire

Explore the world of Oxford composers and discover new music to challenge, inspire, and enthrall.

Click here to download a catalogue in PDF format.

For more information about works in the OCR series, please contact the Repertoire Promotion office on 01865 355020.

Upcoming birthdays and anniversaries:

Howard Skempton at 60 in 2007

Howard Skempton will celebrate his 60th birthday on 31 October 2007.

We hope the career of one of Britain's best loved composers will be recognised and celebrated through performances of his works. To discover (or re-discover!) the music of Howard Skempton please contact the Repertoire Promotion Department, or view the Skempton webpages.

John Gardner at 90 in 2007

OUP composer John Gardner will be 90 on 2 March 2007.

Gordon Crosse at 70 in 2007

December 2007 sees the 70th birthday of OUP composer Gordon Crosse.

Crosse first came to prominence at the 1964 Aldeburgh Festival with Meet My Folks! (Theme and Relations, op.10), a music theatre work for children and adults based on poems by Ted Hughes, and much of his subsequent work reflects an interest in the dramatic and literary arts.

His collaboration with authors, choreographers Kenneth Macmillan and David Bintley and commissions from many international orchestras and festivals reflect the wide spread popularity of his work.

For more information about Gordon Crosse and a catalogue of his works, please view his webpages.

Notes to Editors

Oxford University Press (OUP) is the world's largest and most international of university presses. Founded in 1478, it currently publishes more than 4,500 new books a year, has a presence in over fifty countries, and employs some 3,700 people worldwide. It has become familiar to millions through a diverse publishing programme that includes scholarly works in all academic disciplines, bibles, music, school and college textbooks, children's books, materials for teaching English as a foreign language, business books, dictionaries and reference books, and journals.