Alexander Campkin (born 26 June 1984) is an English

contemporary classical music Contemporary classical music is Western art music composed close to the present day. At the beginning of the 21st-century classical music, 21st century, it commonly referred to the post-1945 Modernism (music), post-tonal music after the death of ...

composer and conductor.

Biography

Alexander Campkin's music is published by

Edition Peters Edition Peters is a classical music publisher founded in Leipzig, Germany in 1800. History The company came into being on 1 December 1800 when the Viennese composer Franz Anton Hoffmeister (1754–1812) and the local organist Ambrosius Kühn ...

. He is Composer-in-Residence of

Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra The Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra (BSO) is an English orchestra, founded in 1893 and originally based in Bournemouth. With a remit to serve the South and South West of England, the BSO is administratively based in the adjacent town of Poole, s ...

Resound. His piece commissioned by the

'Trembling, hoping, lingering, flying' was performed at the

BBC Proms The BBC Proms is an eight-week summer season of daily orchestral classical music concerts and other events held annually, predominantly in the Royal Albert Hall in central London. Robert Newman founded The Proms in 1895. Since 1927, the ...

in the

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London, England. It has a seating capacity of 5,272. Since the hall's opening by Queen Victoria in 1871, the world's leading artists from many performance genres ...

in 2018. Campkin was born in London. He attended

Westminster School Westminster School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Westminster, London, England, in the precincts of Westminster Abbey. It descends from a charity school founded by Westminster Benedictines before the Norman Conquest, as do ...

, and studied viola at the

Guildhall School of Music and Drama The Guildhall School of Music and Drama is a music school, music and drama school located in the City of London, England. Established in 1880, the school offers undergraduate and postgraduate training in all aspects of classical music and jazz al ...

. He studied music at

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...

, where he was Choral Scholar at St Catherine's College, Assistant Organ Scholar at

Trinity College Trinity College may refer to: Australia * Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales * Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...

, conductor of the Oxford Chamber Choir and The Arcadian Singers of Oxford University. He then attended the

Royal Academy of Music The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is one of the oldest music schools in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the firs ...

where he received a master's degree in composition, and the

University of Music and Performing Arts, Vienna The University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna (, abbreviated MDW) is an Austrian university established in 1817 located in Vienna. With a student body of over three thousand, it is the largest institution of its kind in Austria, and one of t ...

where he completed a postgraduate diploma in composition. Campkin is conductor of The Oxbridge Singers and minimaLIST ENsemble and Illumination Chamber Choir

Composition

Alexander Campkin was elected an Associate of the

for Services to Composition in 2014. He has received sixty professiona
commissions
and his work has been performed and broadcast in over thirty countries. Campkin has been commissioned by

Birmingham Royal Ballet Birmingham Royal Ballet (BRB) is one of the five major ballet companies of the United Kingdom, alongside The Royal Ballet, the English National Ballet, Northern Ballet and Scottish Ballet. Founded as the Sadler's Wells Theatre Ballet, the co ...

and Birmingham Cathedral,

The Tallis Scholars The Tallis Scholars is a British professional early music vocal ensemble established in 1973. Normally consisting of two singers per part, with a core group of ten singers, they specialise in performing ''a cappella'' Religious music, sacred vocal ...

, the

London Mozart Players London Mozart Players (LMP) are a British chamber orchestra founded in 1949. LMP are the longest-established chamber orchestra in the United Kingdom. Since 1989, the orchestra has been Resident Orchestra at Fairfield Halls, Croydon. History Begin ...

, ORA Singers, and Voce Chamber choir conducted by Suzi Digby, The

Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House (ROH) is a theatre in Covent Garden, central London. The building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. The ROH is the main home of The Royal Opera, The Royal Ballet, and the Orch ...

, The Joyful Company of Singers in association with the

PRS for Music PRS for Music Limited (formerly The MCPS-PRS Alliance Limited) is a British music copyright collective, made up of two collection societies: the Mechanical-Copyright Protection Society (MCPS) and the Performing Right Society (PRS). It undertake ...

, The Theatinerkirche Munich (former Choir to the Royal Bavarian Court), The London Festival of Contemporary Church Music, The

New London Children's Choir The New London Children's Choir was a children's choir which rehearsed at Highgate Primary School in North London and, latterly, All Hallows, Gospel Oak, giving singing opportunities to members aged seven to eighteen. Members were from London and s ...

and Ronald Corp, Choir and Organ Magazine, Rhinegold Publishing, Shorter House, Pusey House, Oxford. His music has been performed in venues including the Berliner Philharmonie, Amsterdam Concertgebouw, Tokyo Opera City Concert Hall, Shakespeare's Globe Sam Wanamaker Playhouse, Grace Cathedral San Francisco, L'Oratoire de Louvre Paris, Tongyeong Concert Hall South Korea, Christ Cathedral California, LSO St Luke's, Muziekgebouw Amsterdam, Westminster Abbey, National Concert Hall Dublin, King's Place London, St Martin-in-the-Fields London, Cathedral of Saint John the Divine New York City, Southbank Centre and the Barbican Centre. Alexander Campkin was shortlisted in the British Composer Awards in 2008 and 2011 and is Emeritus Composer of the Fulham Camerata, Resident Composer of The Fourth Choir and Composer in Residence of Ampersandance Contemporary Dance Company

Recordings

*2010 – ''Sleep, Holy Babe'' by Blossom Street (Naxos) *2010 – ''Calm Me, O Lord'' by the Wooburn Singers *2012 – ''In Lumine Tuo'' by the Trinity Singers *2013 – ''Sent from God'' by the Merbecke Choir (The Shadow of Thy Wings, sfz music: SFZM0313) *2013 – ''Down by the Sea'' by Blossom Street (Naxos). Classic FM Conoisseur's Choice with David Mellor: 'Simply lovely. I cannot recommend this disc too highly.'. *2013 – ''I saw Eternity'' by the Oxbridge Singers *2013 – ''Counting my Numberless Fingers'' by the Minimalist Ensemble *2013 – ''Bright Shadows'' by Concanenda (Footprint Records) *2014 – ''Colour Blinds the Eye'' by Serikon (Footprint Records) 'Harmonies grow in layers at certain moments, but the emphasis is on a beauty of horizontal lines which join and occasionally clash with delicious dissonance.' *2016 - NMC/

London Sinfonietta The London Sinfonietta is an English contemporary chamber music, chamber orchestra founded in 1968 and based in London. The ensemble has headquarters at Kings Place and is Resident Orchestra at the Southbank Centre. Since its inaugural concert ...

: CoMA Open Score *2017 - Message in a Teardrop by Cantus Ensemble *2018 - Sent from God by The Chamber Choir of London conducted by Dominic Peckham *2019 - Sleep, holy Babe by Signum Classics

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Campkin, Alexander Living people 1984 births Composers from London People educated at Westminster School, London Alumni of St Catherine's College, Oxford Alumni of the Royal Academy of Music University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna alumni 21st-century British classical composers English male classical composers 21st-century British male musicians 21st-century British composers