Nigel Short (singer and choir director)

Nigel Short is founder and artistic director of the choir Tenebrae and Tenebrae Consort.[1] He was previously a member of The King's Singers.[2]

Short was a chorister at Solihull Parish Church. He then studied singing and piano at the Royal College of Music before singing as a countertenor with a number of ensembles including The Tallis Scholars, Westminster Abbey and Westminster Cathedral choirs and The King's Consort.[3] He then pursued a solo career in opera and oratorio, singing several roles in opera productions in Europe and for the English National Opera and Opera North.[2]

In 1993 Short, then aged 27, joined The King's Singers.[4] It was while performing with this ensemble that Short conceived of creating a larger group of singers capable of more "passionate sounds" combined with "the precision of ensembles like The King's Singers",[4] and a more "theatrical" style of performing within religious buildings, involving movement around the performance venue as well as dramatic use of lighting and ambiance. The result was Tenebrae, founded in 2001.[2] The choir was launched that year with a performance of Nigel Short's own composition, The Dream of Herod.[5] The choir has extensively toured to critical acclaim,[1] and won the Choral category of BBC Music Magazine's Awards in 2012.[5]

In 2009 Short was appointed Director of Music at the church of St Bartholomew-the-Great, London, where he directed the professional Priory Church Choir.[6] He held this post until 2015. [7]

Nigel Short has also been a recording producer, creating the album A Choral Christmas with the Rodolfus Choir conducted by Ralph Allwood.[8]

Notes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Allan Kozinn (November 8, 2011). "From Britain, the Sounds of a Century". The New York Times. Retrieved 28 December 2013.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Nigel Short: Artistic Director". Tenebrae. Retrieved 28 December 2013.
  3. ↑ "Nigel Short (Counter-tenor, Choral Conductor)". Bach-Cantatas.com. Retrieved 28 December 2013.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Nigel Short, countertenor (1994-2000)". kingssing.com. Retrieved 28 December 2013.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Tenebrae: Choir". Three Choirs Festival. Retrieved 28 December 2013.
  6. ↑ "Nigel Short appointed Director of Music". St Bartholomew the Great. 2009. Retrieved 3 December 2014.
  7. ↑ "Organists & Directors of Music of St Bartholomew the Great". 2015. Retrieved 4 June 2015.
  8. ↑ A Choral Christmas booklet: Signum SIGCD 257
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