Philip W. J. Stopford (born 1977) is an English organist and composer best known for his choral works.Philip Stopford website
Retrieved 3 February 2022. Philip WJ Stopford

Early life and training

Stopford began his musical career as a chorister at

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London, England. Since 1066, it has been the location of the coronations of 40 English and British m ...

from 1986 to 1990, during which time he also took up the piano, organ and violin. He was awarded a music scholarship to

Bedford School Bedford School is a 7–18 Single-sex education, boys Public school (United Kingdom), public school in the county town of Bedford in England. Founded in 1552, it is the oldest of four independent schools in Bedford run by the Harpur Trust. Bed ...

, which he attended from 1990 to 1995. Later he studied for a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

in music at the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, 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 List of oldest un ...

, where from 1996 to 1999 he also served as organ scholar at

Keble College Keble College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its main buildings are on Parks Road, opposite the University Museum and the University Parks. The college is bordered to the north by Keble Road, to ...

Career

From 1995 to 1996 Stopford was organ scholar at

Truro Cathedral The Cathedral of the Blessed Virgin Mary is a Church of England cathedral in the city of Truro, Cornwall. It was built between 1880 and 1910 to a Gothic Revival design by John Loughborough Pearson on the site of the parish church of St Mary. His ...

, where he worked under Andrew Nethsingha and published his first choral works. After university he was organ scholar at

Canterbury Cathedral Canterbury Cathedral is the cathedral of the archbishop of Canterbury, the spiritual leader of the Church of England and symbolic leader of the worldwide Anglican Communion. Located in Canterbury, Kent, it is one of the oldest Christianity, Ch ...

from 1999 to 2000 before becoming Assistant Organist at

Chester Cathedral Chester Cathedral is a Church of England cathedral and the mother church of the Diocese of Chester. It is located in the city of Chester, Cheshire, England. The cathedral, formerly the abbey church of a Benedictine monastery dedicated to Saint ...

. In 2003 he moved to

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

, where he served as Director of Music at St Anne's Cathedral in

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

until the post was closed in 2010. For the next few years Stopford pursued a career as a composer and conductor before being appointed Director of Music at Christ Church in

Bronxville Bronxville is a Administrative divisions of New York#Village, village in Westchester County, New York, Westchester County, New York (state), New York, United States, located approximately north of Midtown Manhattan. It is part of the Adminis ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, in 2016, having spent part of the previous year there as composer-in-residence. In 2021 he returned to the United Kingdom, where he currently serves as President of the Leighton Buzzard Festival Singers.

Works

Stopford is known for his contemporary ''

a cappella Music performed a cappella ( , , ; ), less commonly spelled acapella in English, is music performed by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Rena ...

'' and accompanied settings of traditional Latin and English prayers and hymns, including "

Ave Verum Corpus is a short Eucharistic chant that has been set to music by many composers. It dates to the 13th century, first recorded in a central Italian Franciscan manuscript (Chicago, Newberry Library, 24). A Reichenau manuscript of the 14th century attri ...

", titled "Ave Verum"; "Lullay, My Liking"; the Coventry Carol, titled "Lully, Lulla, Lullay"; and "In My Father's House". Three of Stopford's works appeared in the Classic FM Hall of Fame in 2014, after he made his first appearance on the chart in 2013. He has composed numerous other works, including a

Te Deum The ( or , ; from its incipit, ) is a Latin Christian hymn traditionally ascribed to a date before AD 500, but perhaps with antecedents that place it much earlier. It is central to the Ambrosian hymnal, which spread throughout the Latin ...

, a Latin Mass titled "Missa Deus Nobiscum" and various Latin canticles. ''Missa Deus Nobiscum'' was commissioned to celebrate the 150th anniversary of

Methodist College Belfast Methodist College Belfast (MCB), locally known as Methody, is a co-educational voluntary grammar school in Belfast, located at the foot of the Malone Road, Northern Ireland. It was founded in 1865 by the Methodist Church in Ireland and is one of e ...

; its first performance was in the

Waterfront Hall Belfast Waterfront is a multi-purpose conference and entertainment centre, in Belfast, Northern Ireland, designed by local architects' firm Robinson McIlwaine. The hall is located in Lanyon Place, the flagship development of the Laganside Corp ...

, Belfast, on 14 March 2019. Stopford also serves as director of the professional choir Ecclesium, which has released many CDs of his works.

References

External links

*
Ecclesium.co.uk: home to the music of Philip Stopford

Lully Lulla Lullay, performed by Ecclesium, conducted by the composer in Belfast Cathedral
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stopford, Philip 1977 births Living people People educated at Bedford School Alumni of Keble College, Oxford English composers Choral composers English choral conductors English male conductors (music) 21st-century English conductors (music) 21st-century English male musicians English cathedral organists English male classical organists