Alexander Brett Stobbs (born 30 January 1990 in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, England) is a British musician. He was featured in the

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

documentary series "Cutting Edge" (TV series) in the episodes ''A Boy Called Alex''RCM 6 July 2018 Graduation Ceremony Programme (2008) and ''Alex: A Passion for Life'' (2009). Stobbs has

cystic fibrosis Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a genetic disorder inherited in an autosomal recessive manner that impairs the normal clearance of Sputum, mucus from the lungs, which facilitates the colonization and infection of the lungs by bacteria, notably ''Staphy ...

, a condition that was documented in both films.

Early life

After completing his academic and musical studies at Stoke Brunswick, Stobbs joined the Choir of King's College,

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

. During his time as a chorister, he participated in a recording of

Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (German: Help:IPA/Standard German, �joːhan zeˈbasti̯an baχ ( – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque music, Baroque period. He is known for his prolific output across a variety ...

's ''Magnificat'' with King's College for

EMI EMI Group Limited (formerly EMI Group plc until 2007; originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At t ...

, a piece he would later conduct. He also studied music as a

choral scholar {{Short description, Student who receives a scholarship for singing in a choir A choral scholar is a student at either a university or a private school who receives a scholarship in exchange for singing in the school or university's choir. This is ...

at King's College. On 5 April 2009, he conducted Bach's ''

St Matthew Passion The ''St Matthew Passion'' (), BWV 244, is a '' Passion'', a sacred oratorio written by Johann Sebastian Bach in 1727 for solo voices, double choir and double orchestra, with libretto by Picander. It sets the 26th and 27th chapters of th ...

'' at

Cadogan Hall Cadogan Hall is a 950-seat capacity concert hall in Sloane Terrace in Chelsea, London, Chelsea in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, England. The resident music ensemble at Cadogan Hall is the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra ( ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, featuring the Rodolfus Choir and Southbank Sinfonia. Stobbs took early inspiration from the works of

Walter de la Mare Walter John de la Mare (; 25 April 1873 – 22 June 1956) was an English poet, short story writer and novelist. He is probably best remembered for his works for children, for his poem "The Listeners", and for his psychological horror short fi ...

and British novelist

J. K. Rowling Joanne Rowling ( ; born 31 July 1965), known by her pen name , is a British author and philanthropist. She is the author of ''Harry Potter'', a seven-volume fantasy novel series published from 1997 to 2007. The series has List of best-sell ...

. He continued his music education as a scholar at

Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...

, where he conducted Bach's ''Magnificat'' in March 2007. In September 2009, he published ''A Passion for Living'', a diary detailing his experiences during his A-levels and his preparation for performing Bach's ''

''. In July 2018, Stobbs received third prize in the Joan Chissell Schumann Prize for Piano at the

Royal College of Music The Royal College of Music (RCM) is a conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the undergraduate to the doctoral level in all aspects of Western Music including pe ...

Documentaries

Stobbs has been featured in two television documentaries. Both were directed by Paddy Wivell, produced by Walker George Films, and were broadcast on

. The first, ''A Boy Called Alex'', followed Alex's efforts to conduct Bach's ''Magnificat'' while living with

. It aired in 2008 and received a

BAFTA The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA, ) is an independent trade association and charity that supports, develops, and promotes the arts of film, television and video games in the United Kingdom. In addition to its annual awa ...

nomination in 2009. The second documentary, titled ''Alex: A Passion for Life'', was broadcast in October 2009. It documented Stobbs' first year at King's College,

, as he prepared to conduct Bach's ''

'' with a full orchestra in the

, highlighting his experiences with cystic fibrosis. He appeared on the UK talk show ''

Richard & Judy ''Richard & Judy'' (also known as ''Richard & Judy's New Position'') is a British television chat show presented by the married couple Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan. The show originally aired on Channel 4 from 26 November 2001 to 22 Augus ...

'' in January 2008, performing

Rachmaninov Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff; in Russian pre-revolutionary script. (28 March 1943) was a Russian composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one of ...

's Prelude in G-sharp minor, Op. 32/12.

Early life

Documentaries

References

External links