Stephen Layton

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Stephen Layton is a world renowned English conductor.

He has received multiple Grammy nominations for his work, a Gramophone Award and the Diapason d’Or in France for his choral recording of music by Benjamin Britten.[1][2]. He is currently director of music at Trinity College, Cambridge and Polyphony. As well as this he is artistic director of the Holst Singers.[3]


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[edit] Early Life

Brought up in Derby, his father was an organist at the local church, which is where his piano playing began.[4] He won a choral scholarship to Winchester where he was taught by Martin Neary, later music director at Westminster Abbey.[4] He won scolarships to Eton and then King's College, Cambridge as an organ scholar. He was assistant organist at Southwark Cathedral before moving to the Temple church in 1997, first as organist, then director of music.[4] He was appointed Director of Music at Trinity College, Cambridge in 2006.[5]

[edit] Conductor

He has conducted many of the Britain's top orchestra's such as the London Philharmonic and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic. He has also worked with the the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, the Ulster Orchestra, the the London Sinfonietta, the English Chamber Orchestra, the City of London Sinfonia, the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, the Irish Chamber Orchestra, the Britten Sinfonia, the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and the Academy of Ancient Music.

Further afield he has also conducted the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Danish Radio Symphony Orchestra, and Mozart's Requiem with Australian Chamber Orchestra in at the Sydney Opera House.

On the choral side Layton is Principal Conductor of the Netherlands Chamber Choir and Chief Guest Conductor of the Danish National Choir.[6] and has also conducted choirs like the BBC Singers[7]. He was even breifly offered the conductership of them, to the dislike of the singers themselves.[8]

[edit] Polyphony

The 21-mixed-voice choir Polyphony was formed by Stephen Layton in 1986 for a concert in King’s College Chapel, Cambridge.

They are notable for their recording Sacred and Profane of Britten's music which one them a Grammy nomination. They also received Grammy nominations for "Best Choral Performance" with their recordings of Lauridsen's Lux Aeterna and of Whitacre's Cloudburst in 2006 and 2007 respectively.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Choral Grammy: Singing Layton's praises.
  2. ^ Stephen Layton conducts Light of Light.
  3. ^ Stephen Layton.
  4. ^ a b c The polyphonic spree.
  5. ^ Trinity appoint Layton as Musical Director.
  6. ^ Stephen Layton - Profile.
  7. ^ Layton conducts BBC Singers.
  8. ^ Master and Commander. The Times.

[edit] External links