Jonathan Rennert (born 17 March 1952) is an English organist, conductor and writer. He gave his debut broadcast organ recital at the age of 19 in

Westminster Cathedral Westminster Cathedral is the mother church of the Catholic Church in England and Wales. It is the largest Catholic church in the UK and the seat of the Archbishop of Westminster. The site on which the cathedral stands in the City o ...

, having become a Fellow of the Royal College of Organists at 18. Rennert studied at the

Royal College of Music The Royal College of Music is a music school, conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the Undergraduate education, undergraduate to the Doctorate, doctoral level in a ...

under

Richard Popplewell Richard Popplewell LVO (18 October 1935 - 22 March 2016) was an English organist and composer who served at the Chapel Royal and St Michael's, Cornhill. Works His music was published by Banks. Choral * A vast cloud of love (words by Madelin ...

, John Barstow and

William Lloyd Webber William Southcombe Lloyd Webber (11 March 1914 – 29 October 1982) was an English organist and composer, who achieved some fame as a part of the modern classical music movement whilst commercially facing mixed opportunities. Besides his long ...

, and at Cambridge (where he was organ scholar of St John's College) under

George Guest George Guest CBE FRCO (9 February 1924 – 20 November 2002) was a Welsh organist and choral conductor. Birth and early life George Guest was born in Bangor, Gwynedd. His father was an organist and Guest assisted him by acting as organ b ...

and

Gillian Weir Dame Gillian Constance Weir (born 17 January 1941) is a New Zealand-British organist. Biography Weir was born in Martinborough, New Zealand, on 17 January 1941. Her parents were Clarice Mildred Foy ( Bignell) and Cecil Alexander Weir. She re ...

. Awards included Cambridge University's John Stewart of Rannoch Scholarship in Sacred Music and 'Greater London Arts Association Young Musician 1975'. Short periods based in London and at St Matthew's, Ottawa were followed by his appointment in 1979 as Director of Music of St Michael's Cornhill, the church which has been his base for 40 years. Here he has given more than 400 of the weekly lunchtime organ recitals, and continued the musical traditions of such predecessors as

William Boyce William Boyce may refer to: *William Boyce (composer) (1711–1779), English-born composer and Master of the King's Musick *William Binnington Boyce (1804–1889), English-born philologist and clergyman, active in Australia * William Waters Boyce ( ...

(the 18th-century composer) and

Harold Darke Harold Edwin Darke (29 October 1888 – 28 November 1976) was an English composer and organist. He is particularly known for his choral compositions, which are an established part of the respertoire of Anglican church music. Darke had a fifty-y ...

. He has tended to specialise in the music of J S Bach and romantic English composers, though he also gives first performances of new music. He has given organ recitals in many countries, and in 'celebrity' series at the

Royal Festival Hall The Royal Festival Hall is a 2,700-seat concert, dance and talks venue within Southbank Centre in London. It is situated on the South Bank of the River Thames, not far from Hungerford Bridge, in the London Borough of Lambeth. It is a Grade I l ...

St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral is an Anglicanism, Anglican cathedral in London and is the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London. It is on Ludgate Hill at the highest point of the City of London ...

and

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the United ...

, and was Musician-in-Residence at Grace Cathedral, San Francisco. There are several CDs, including a choral disc of music by George Dyson in which Rennert conducted St Michael's Singers and the

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London, that performs and produces primarily classic works. The RPO was established by Thomas Beecham in 1946. In its early days, the orchestra secured profitable ...

. Other choirs of which he has been chief conductor include the Elizabethan Singers and St Cecilia Chorus. His writings include biographies of the infant prodigy and composer

William Crotch William Crotch (5 July 177529 December 1847) was an English composer and organist. According to the American musicologist Nicholas Temperley, Crotchwas "a child prodigy without parallel in the history of music", and was certainly the most dis ...

(1975)''William Crotch (1775-1847): Composer, Artist, Teacher'', Terence Dalton Ltd, 1975 and of the organist

George Thalben-Ball Sir George Thomas Thalben-Ball (18 June 1896 – 18 January 1987) was an Australian organist and composer who spent almost all his life in England. Early life George Thomas Ball (he later took the additional name of "Thalben") was born in Sydn ...

(1979). He has served as President of The Organ Club, Warden of the

Incorporated Society of Musicians The Independent Society of Musicians (ISM) is the UK and Ireland's professional body for musicians representing over 11,000 individuals across all areas of the music industry. The ISM is also a subject association for music education and is an ind ...

and Master of the

Worshipful Company of Musicians The Worshipful Company of Musicians is one of the Livery Companies of the City of London. Its history dates back to at least 1350. Originally a specialist guild for musicians, its role became an anachronism in the 18th century, when the centre of ...

. He is a senior moderating examiner for the

Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music The ABRSM (Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music) is an examination board and registered charity based in the United Kingdom. ABRSM is one of five examination boards accredited by Ofqual to award graded exams and diploma qualificatio ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rennert, Jonathan 1952 births Living people British classical organists British male organists 20th-century organists 21st-century organists Male classical organists