Artists
Karl Jenkins
Patron
A recent exhaustive survey shows that Karl Jenkins is now the most performed living composer in the world. Educated at Gowerton Grammar School, Cardiff University and the Royal Academy of Music, London, The Armed Man: A Mass For Peace alone has been performed nearly 1000 times in 20 different countries since the CD was released while his recorded output has resulted in seventeen gold and platinum disc awards.
It was in jazz that he initially made his mark. In those days of ‘Jazz Polls” he was a prolific poll winner, playing at London’s famous Ronnie Scott’s club before co-forming Nucleus, which won first prize at the Montreux Jazz Festival and appeared at the Newport Jazz Festival, Rhode Island.
This was followed by a period with Soft Machine, one of the seminal bands of the 70’s. Through many incarnations, ‘Softs’ defied categorisation, playing venues as diverse as Carnegie Hall, the ‘Proms’, the Reading ‘Rock’ Festival.
In the field of advertising music he has twice won the prestigious ‘Design & Art Direction’ award for best music, the ‘Creative Circle Gold’ and several ‘Clios’ [New York] and ‘Golden Lions’ [Cannes]. Credits include Levi’s, British Airways, Renault, Volvos, C&G, Tag Heuer, Pepsi as well as US/global campaigns for De Beers and Delta Airlines and BAFTA ‘gongs’ for his scores for the documentaries The Celts and Testament.
After this period as a media composer, his return to the music mainstream was initially marked by the success of the Adiemus project. Adiemus, combining the ‘classical’ with ethnic vocal sounds and percussion with an invented language, topped classical and ‘pop’ charts around the world.
His output includes the harp concerto ‘Over The Stone’ commissioned by HRH the Prince of Wales for the Royal Harpist, Catrin Finch, Euphonium Concerto for David Childs, the concertante ‘Quirk’, commissioned by the London Symphony Orchestra and conducted by Sir Colin Davies as part of its 2005 centenary season, Tlep written for virtuoso violinist Marat Bisengaliev and In These Stones Horizons Sing, featuring Bryn Terfel, Catrin Finch with the WNO Orchestra and Chorus which was premiered at the Royal Gala opening of the Welsh Millennium Centre in the presence of Her Majesty The Queen.
In the summer of 2005 he scored the feature film, River Queen starring Kiefer Sutherland & Samantha Morton, the soundtrack of which won the Golden Goblet award for best score at the Shanghai Film Festival.Recent CD releases include Requiem, “Kiri Sings Karl” with Dame Kiri Te Kanawa., This Land Of Ours with the Cory Band [world brass band champions], Stabat Mater, Quirk, a collection of concertos which includes La Folia, commissioned by Dame Evelyn Glennie, Stella Natalis and Gloria, premiered by a chorus of 2,500 at the Royal Albert Hall in July 2010.
In 2004 he entered Classic FM’s ‘Hall of Fame” at no 8., the highest position for a living composer and has since been the highest placed living composer, as well as, in 2006, no. 4 amongst British composers.
Karl holds a Doctor of Music degree from the University of Wales, has been made both a Fellow and an Associate of the Royal Academy of Music, where a room has been named in his honour, and has fellowships at Cardiff University, Swansea University, the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama, Trinity College Carmarthen, Swansea Metropolitan University and was also presented by Classic FM with the Red F Award for outstanding service to classical music. He has been the subject of the ITV South Bank Show by Lord [Melvyn] Bragg as well as being a ‘castaway’ on ‘Desert Island Discs’ and was recently made a Freeman of the City of London.
Further awards include an Honorary Doctorate of Music from the University of Leicester, the Chancellors Medal from the University of Glamorgan and two Honorary visiting Professorships, one at Thames Valley University/London College of Music and the other at the ATriUM, Cardiff. In November 2009 he was given the Cymru For The World Award and in March 2010 was honoured with the Hopkins Medal given by the St. David’s Society for the State of New York.
Current plans include, in association with the Worshipful Company of Musicians, the setting up of a foundation to help young players entering the music profession.
He was awarded an OBE, by Her Majesty The Queen, in the 2005 New Year’s Honours List and a CBE in the 2010 Birthday Honours List for services to music.
Did You Know...
Karl Jenkins
Has composed a specially commissioned new choral work for the ISCMS Music Festival 2012 - Lumen. This commission has been funded by our passionate student musicians!
Requiem by
Karl Jenkins was performed by a student choir and the Beijing Youth Orchestra in March 2011 at Dulwich College, Beijing.
Beverly Vaughn, mezzo-soprano, is a native of Columbus, Ohio, and graduate of Pine Forge Academy. She subsequently graduated from Loma Linda University (La Sierra campus) in Riverside, California, with a B.A. in Spanish. Following graduation from Loma Linda University, she received a full graduate fellowship to the Ohio State University in Columbus where she completed a Master of Music degree in voice performance and the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in voice performance. Beverly also was awarded a Corbett Foundation Fellowship for operatic study in New York City during this period. While there, she studied with Marinka Gurewich and coached primarily with Maestro Martin Rich, a member of the Metropolitan Opera conducting and coaching staff. She made her operatic debut in 1976 as the Strawberry Woman in Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess with the Graz Opera Company of Graz (Austria) followed by an important debut as Nicklaus in Offenbach’s The Tales of Hoffmann with the Volksoper of Vienna (Austria). She later received overwhelming critical acclaim for her performance as Hannah in the world premiere of Sir Michael Tippett’s The Ice Break at the Royal Opera House in London, England under the direction of Sir Colin Davis. She has subsequently appeared on other international operatic stages in numerous lyric mezzo soprano roles ranging from the title role in Carmen; Suzuki from Madame Butterfly; Cherubino from The Marriage of Figaro; to Tigrana from Edgar. She toured Europe extensively with the Harlem Opera Ensemble singing the title role in their production of Carmen Jones and has appeared in recitals; oratorios; concerts; at international music festivals and in orchestral performances throughout the United States; the Caribbean; Israel; Africa and Europe as well as on international television and radio.
Beverly joined the faculty of The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey (located about 11 miles west of Atlantic City) during the 1982-83 academic year to become a part of its music faculty and to serve as the director of choral activities. She has now been a full professorship of music at Stockton for many years.
Since coming to Stockton, Beverly Vaughn has conducted the College Chorus, Stockton Oratorio Society & Chorale with accompanying orchestra in critically acclaimed performances of choral masterworks such as the Verdi Requiem; Rossini’s Stabat Mater, Haydn’s Creation; Handel’s Judas Maccabaeus; Charpentier’s Messe de Noel, Vaughan Williams’ The First Nowell, Saint-Saens’ Christmas Oratorio; Britten’s Ceremony of Carols; Ray’s Gospel Mass; Pinkerton’s Christmas Cantata; Orff’s Carmina Burana; Mendelssohn’s Elijah; and Mozart’s Requiem. Her choral organisations have also presented Evenings of Operatic Arias; Choruses; Holiday Gospel Extravaganzas; Christmas Holiday Celebrations; and several concert versions of popular Gilbert and Sullivan operettas including H.M.S. Pinafore; The Pirates of Penzance and Trial by Jury. The Stockton choral groups have been heralded as some of the area’s most exciting musical organisations and continue to be an important conduit for college and community fellowship. The combined choir force of 200-350 singers is renowned not only for its interpretation and performance of these masterworks but it is also receives acclaim for its performances of Handel’s Messiah. These performances are held every other year with the last two performances (December 2004 and December 2006) taking place in one the area’s most beautiful churches - St. Nicholas of Tolentine Roman Catholic Church in Atlantic City. Its numerous televised performances continue to generate unprecedented goodwill for Stockton and the community. The Stockton Oratorio Society has also performed throughout Italy and is looking forward to more foreign travel in the future.
Beverly also teaches other related general college music courses and has been deeply involved in outreach programs such as Project Malawi. Sensing the deep need for educational materials and music instruments after spending a semester sabbatical at the University of Malawi’s Chancellor College in Zomba in the fall of 2001; Beverly was blessed to spearhead a joint campus and community wide outreach program to send used instruments; college textbooks; musical scores; computers; CDs; LPs; sheet music; etc. to Malawi. The response was overwhelming!! Over 2000 pieces of music; 600 CDs; 1500 college textbooks (ranging from biochemistry to Beginning French); 2 pianos; 3 organs; computers; medical journals - even a huge container of medical goods sent by Malawian students attending Andrews University - was sent by cargo ship from Stockton to Zomba! Beverly plans to return to Malawi during this academic year to access the project and its progress after 5 years.
Finally Beverly has been blessed to receive numerous college and community awards. Stockton awards include: Stockton Faculty Member of the Year; Stockton Faculty Advisor of the Year; Division of Arts & Humanities Faculty Member of the Year (4 Times); Stockton Council of Black Faculty and Staff Merit Award and Honors of the Year; Stockton’s Kappa Chapter’s Professor of the Year along with citations from Stockton Gospel Choir (founded by Beverly); the African American Studies program; the Jewish & Holocaust Studies Program; the Unified Black Students Society; etc. Her local community service awards include: Beth El Synagogue’s Fr. Thom Schiavo Humanitarian Award; One Hundred and One Women Plus Award; The Atlantic City Jaycee’s People in Fashion Award; Jewish Federation of Atlantic and Cape May Counties President’s Special Award; The Zonta Club’s Women Who Make A Difference Award; The Rotary Club of AC’s Beacon Award for International Service; Atlantic County Women’s Hall of Fame Inductee (representing the arts); etc. She has been listed several times in annual Who’s who among Teachers in American Colleges and Universities; The International Biographical index; Outstanding Young Women of America; etc. and has had Beverly Vaughn Day proclaimed in both Columbus, Ohio and in Atlantic (New Jersey) County.
Beverly has also served as Minister of Music/organist for several churches in addition to serving in her in the music ministry of her own local Seventh-day Adventist church congregation. These include serving as minister of music/organist for Centenary United Methodist Church in Columbus Ohio: minister of music/organist for St. James African Methodist Church in Atlantic City; and until recently as music director for St. Matthew’s Baptist Church of Williamstown, New Jersey. She has given choral and/or voice workshops places ranging from Vienna (Austria) to Mutare (Zimbabwe) and is a member of the academic faculty of the Gospel Music Workshop of America. She has written numerous articles and is currently working on a book concerning stylistic questions in the works of Sir. Michael Tippett. She is a member of numerous music organisations such as the American Choral Directors Association; the Association for the Study of African American Life and History; The Center for Black Music Research; The International Federation of Choral Music; The College Music Society; The Music Educators National Council; The National Council for Black Studies; The Gospel Music Workshop of America (New Jersey Chapter); Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority (Theta Kappa Omega Chapter); the Omicron Delta Kappa Society and The Pine Forge Academy Alumni Association.
Dr. Karl Jenkins CBE OBE
B.Mus., F.R.A.M., A.R.A.M., L.R.A.M., F.R.W.C.M.D. F.T.C.C.
Beverly Vaughn
