Ex Lord Bill’s pupil wins Classical Brit award

WORLD famous composer, and former Lord Williams’s pupil, Howard Goodall, won the Composer of the Year award at the Classical Brit Awards this week.

Howard, whose father is a former Headmaster of the school, received his award at the televised award ceremony this week, on Tuesday, May 19, 2009.

His winning choral work, Eternal Light – a Requiem, was Commissioned by Mark Stephenson on behalf of London Musici to celebrate the orchestra?s 20th anniversary.

Howard says of the piece: “?For me, a modern Requiem is one that acknowledges the terrible, unbearable loss and emptiness that accompanies the death of loved ones, a loss that is not easily ameliorated with platitudes about the joy awaiting us in the afterlife.

“Musical expression can, I hope, provide some outlet, some reflection, some transportation, even some comfort. This was to be a Requiem for the living, a Requiem focussing on interrupted lives.”

Nothing if not flexible, Howard Goodall has also written, among other things, the themes for many popular TV shows like Blackadder, Mr Bean, Red Dwarf, The Catherine Tate Show, Q.I. or The Vicar of Dibley.

Photo: Courtesy of www.jamd.com