Christopher Bowers-Broadbent
English organist and composer, former King's College chorister.
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Christopher Bowers-Broadbent, an English organist and composer, was born on 13 January 1945 in Hertfordshire. He sang as a boy chorister at King’s College, Cambridge, under Boris Ord and briefly David Willcocks, also playing violin and piano there. As a teenager at Berkhamsted School, he started learning the organ with Kenneth Abbott. He later studied organ with Arnold Richardson and composition with Richard Rodney Bennett at the Royal Academy of Music.
Quick Facts
- Born
- 13 January 1945
- Birthplace
- Hertfordshire, UK
- Occupation
- Organist and composer
- Education
- Royal Academy of Music
- Notable teachers
- Arnold Richardson (organ), Richard Rodney Bennett (composition)
- Fellowship
- Fellow of the Royal Academy of Music (FRAM)
Facts from the source article.
Biography
Christopher Bowers-Broadbent was born in Hertfordshire UK on 13 January 1945. As a boy chorister in the Choir of King's College, Cambridge, he sang under Boris Ord and then briefly under David Willcocks. At King's, he also played violin and piano. His teenage years were spent at Berkhamsted School, where he first began learning the organ under Dr Kenneth Abbott.
Composing career
He then studied at the Royal Academy of Music, taking organ lessons from Arnold Richardson—organist of the West London Synagogue and Wolverhampton Town Hall—and composition from Richard Rodney Bennett. Over more than 60 years he has composed a wide range of works, including four operas: The Pied Piper of Hamelin (1972, with children), The Seacock Bane (1978, for teenagers), The Last Man (2003, comic), and The Face (2012, a crime thriller). His choral music includes Shabbat Evening and Morning Service in Hebrew (2021), Te Deum (2023/5), Benedictus (2025), and Jubilate (2025).
Concert organist career
Organ works include Duets and Canons (1996), Media vita (1996), and 7 Words (2002). He made his debut at the Camden Festival in 1966, with major recitals at the St Albans International Organ Festival in 1969 and the Royal Festival Hall in 1971. His first Proms appearance as a soloist was in 1972. He has worked extensively with Paul Hillier's Theatre of Voices.
He is a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Music (FRAM). Around 2020 he received an Honorary Master of the Bench of the Honourable Society of Gray's Inn. In 2025, Arvo Pärt's Puzzle was written for him in celebration of his birthday. He has held organist posts at All Saints, Berkhamsted; St Pancras, Euston, London; and from around 1970 to 2021 at West London Synagogue, where he became Director of Music in 2012.
Recording career
Since 1983 he has been associated with the Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, London. His discography includes many ECM albums, reflecting a long partnership with the Hilliard Ensemble and Arvo Pärt. He recorded CDs as an organist and appeared with Paul Hillier's Theatre of Voices. From 1973 to 1992 he was an organ professor at the Royal Academy of Music.
His pupils include Kevin Bowyer and Andrew Pink (RAM post-graduate student 1980-81). He is the father of musician Harry Broadbent.
More in Choristers of the Choir of King's College, Cambridge
Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Christopher Bowers-Broadbent (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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