City of London Sinfonia appointments announced
Stephen Layton will succeed the late Richard Hickox as Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of the City of London Sinfonia in September 2010.
Known for his eclectic discography on Hyperion, Layton has won many awards, including a Gramophone Award and the Diapason D’Or, and received two Grammy nominations. He has collaborated with leading orchestras around the world, including the Philadelphia Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Academy of Ancient Music, Britten Sinfonia, Australian Chamber Orchestra and Scottish Chamber Orchestra. Next month he returns to Australia for concerts with the Queensland Orchestra and the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra.
Layton is Fellow and Director of Music at Trinity College, Cambridge and Director of Polyphony, the outstanding professional choir he formed in 1987, whilst studying at King’s College, Cambridge. He is also Principal Guest Conductor of the Danish National Vocal Ensemble and a former Chief Conductor of the Netherlands Kammerkoor. He has appeared in Hong Kong and Seoul with the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir. He conducted the world premiere of Sir John Tavener’s all night vigil “The Veil of the Temple” in London in 2003 and went on to perform the work at the BBC Proms and Lincoln Center Festival, all with the Choir of the Temple Church, London, and the Holst Singers.
Layton brings to CLS a wide-ranging repertoire, which has included explorations of baroque music on both period and modern instruments. In 2000 and 2002 he conducted Deborah Warner’s English National Opera production of Bach’s St John Passion, interrupting the run on each occasion to perform the same work in concert on period instruments. This year has seen releases on Hyperion of music by Handel, with the Academy of Ancient Music and the Choir of Trinity College, Cambridge, in addition to an eagerly anticipated recording of Messiah, with Polyphony and the Britten Sinfonia, on modern instruments. Last year, both Layton’s Poulenc Gloria and Bruckner E Minor Mass were “Editor’s Choice” in Gramophone.
Always leading the way with new musical discoveries, Layton’s advocacy of composers Whitacre and Lauridsen has been taken up worldwide. Arvo Pärt, Sir John Tavener, James MacMillan and Thomas Ades have all been premiered in concert and on record by Layton. Recent collaborations with Baltic composers, Pavel Lukaszewski, and Ugis Praulins have resulted in several recordings with both Trinity College Choir and Polyphony.
James Brown, Managing Director of Hazard Chase comments “I am delighted that CLS has chosen to work with Stephen and with Michael Collins, two outstanding British artists, who will bring formidable and complementary talents to the orchestra. I know that in his role as Artistic Director, Stephen will be a worthy successor to the much missed and respected founder of the orchestra, Richard Hickox”.
The full announcement from the City of London Sinfonia can be found at http://www.cityoflondonsinfonia.co.uk/
