Stephen David Layton (born 23 December 1966) is an English conductor.
Biography
Layton was raised in
Derby
Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby g ...
, where his father was a church organist. He was a chorister at
Winchester Cathedral
The Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity,Historic England. "Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity (1095509)". ''National Heritage List for England''. Retrieved 8 September 2014. Saint Peter, Saint Paul and Saint Swithun, commonly known as Winches ...
, and subsequently won scholarships to
Eton College
Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, ...
and then
King's College, Cambridge
King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Formally The King's College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge, the college lies beside the River Cam and faces out onto King's Parade in the centre of the cit ...
as an
organ scholar
An organ scholar is a young musician employed as a part-time assistant organist at a cathedral, church or institution where regular choral services are held. The idea of an organ scholarship is to provide the holder with playing, directing and adm ...
under
Stephen Cleobury
Sir Stephen John Cleobury ( ; 31 December 1948 – 22 November 2019)
Whilst studying at Cambridge, Layton founded the mixed-voice choir
Polyphony
Polyphony ( ) is a type of musical texture consisting of two or more simultaneous lines of independent melody, as opposed to a musical texture with just one voice, monophony, or a texture with one dominant melodic voice accompanied by chords, ...
in 1986. He was appointed the musical director of the Holst Singers in 1993, replacing
Hilary Davan Wetton
Hilary John Davan Wetton (born 23 December 1943) is a British conductor.
Biography
Hilary Davan Wetton was educated at Westminster School and Oxford University. He has married three times, in 1964 to Elizabeth Tayler and in 1989 to Alison Kell ...
, who had founded the group in 1978. Layton has been assistant organist at
Southwark Cathedral
Southwark Cathedral ( ) or The Cathedral and Collegiate Church of St Saviour and St Mary Overie, Southwark, London, lies on the south bank of the River Thames close to London Bridge. It is the mother church of the Anglican Diocese of Southwar ...
, and musical director of Wokingham Choral Society. From 1997, he was organist and subsequently director of music at the
Temple Church
The Temple Church is a Royal peculiar church in the City of London located between Fleet Street and the River Thames, built by the Knights Templar as their English headquarters. It was consecrated on 10 February 1185 by Patriarch Heraclius of J ...
. From 1999 to 2004 he was chief conductor of the Netherlands Kammerkoor. From 2000 to 2012 he was chief guest conductor of the Danish National Vocal Ensemble. In 2006, he became director of music at
Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge or Oxford. ...
. 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.
Layton has premiered new works and recordings by a number of composers, including Arvo Pärt,
Thomas Adès
Thomas Joseph Edmund Adès (born 1 March 1971) is a British composer, pianist and conductor. Five compositions by Adès received votes in the 2017 Classic Voice poll of the greatest works of art music since 2000: '' The Tempest'' (2004), '' ...
and James MacMillan. His realisation of
John Tavener
Sir John Kenneth Tavener (28 January 1944 – 12 November 2013) was an English composer, known for his extensive output of choral religious works. Among his best known works are '' The Lamb'' (1982), ''The Protecting Veil'' (1988), and '' Song ...
'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.
Stephen Layton's discography on Hyperion ranges from Handel and Bach with original instruments to Arvo Pärt, Paweł Łukaszewski, Lauridsen, Whitacre and
Ēriks Ešenvalds
Ēriks Ešenvalds (born January 26, 1977) is a Latvian composer. From 2011 to 2013 he was Fellow Commoner in Creative Arts at Trinity College, University of Cambridge.
Biography
Ēriks Ešenvalds was born in Priekule, Latvia in 1977. He studie ...
. Recordings with Polyphony include Gabriel Jackson, Paweł Łukaszewski, Francis Poulenc, John Tavener, and Ẽriks Ešenvalds.
He has received two Gramophone Awards in the UK and the
Diapason d'Or
The Diapason d'Or (French for "Golden Tuning Fork") is a recommendation of outstanding (mostly) classical music recordings given by reviewers of '' Diapason'' magazine in France, broadly equivalent to "Editor's Choice", "Disc of the Month" in the ...
in France, The Echo Deutscher Musikpreis in Germany, The Compact Award in Spain, and four Grammy nominations in the USA.
Layton was appointed
Member of the Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
(MBE) in the
2020 Birthday Honours
The Queen's Birthday Honours for 2020 are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded ...