KARL JENKINS b. 17.2.1944.
Sir Karl William Pamp Jenkins CBE is a Welsh musician and composer. Jenkins was born and raised in the Gower village of Penclawdd in the County of Swansea, South Wales to a Welch father and Swedish mother. Initially instructed musically by his father, who was a local schoolteacher, chapel organist and choirmaster. Karl Jenkins attended Gower Grammar School. Jenkins began his musical career as an oboist at the National Youth orchestra of Wales and went onto study music at Cardiff University. He then commenced post graduate studies in London at the Royal Academy of Music, where he met his wife and musical collaborator Carol Barratt.
For the bulk of his early career Jenkins showed more interest in jazz and jazz-rock and was known as a musician playing baritone and soprano saxophones, keyboards and oboe. He joined jazz composer Graham Colliers group and later co-founded the jazz-rock group Nucleus which took first prize at the Montreux Jazz Festival in 1970. Jenkins has created lots of advertising music, twice winning the industry prize in that field. As a composer his breakthrough and return to the music mainstream came with the crossover project Adiemus - a collection of song length pieces featuring harmonised vocal melody against an orchestra background. There are no lyrics as such, instead the vocalists sing syllables and `words` invented by Jenkins. The Adiemus albums have sold more than 3 million copies in 50 countries. Today, his music is constantly being performed and his recording output has resulted in 17 gold and platinum discs. He is joint president of the British Double Reed Society and patron of the International Schools Choral Music Society. He holds a doctorate of music from the University of Wales, and has been made a fellow and associate of the Royal Academy of Music. His music spans genres, from ballet and symphonic music to BAFTA Award-winning soundtracks and festival winning jazz.
Jenkins was the first international composer and conductor to conduct the University of Johannesburg Kingsway Choir during his visit to South Africa as the choir performed The Armed Man - A Mass for Peace. The Armed Man made the top spot on Classic FM`s best music from a living composer.
Jenkins latest work `The Peacemakers` features text from Gandhi, Martin Luther King, the Dali Lama, Nelson Mandela, Anna Frank and Mother Teresa as well as words from the Bible and the Qur`an with some new text specially written by Terry Waite. In 2015 it was announced that he would receive a knighthood in the Queen`s birthday honours for services to composing and crossing musical genres, the first Welch born composer to be so honoured. .........(Read more....)
For the bulk of his early career Jenkins showed more interest in jazz and jazz-rock and was known as a musician playing baritone and soprano saxophones, keyboards and oboe. He joined jazz composer Graham Colliers group and later co-founded the jazz-rock group Nucleus which took first prize at the Montreux Jazz Festival in 1970. Jenkins has created lots of advertising music, twice winning the industry prize in that field. As a composer his breakthrough and return to the music mainstream came with the crossover project Adiemus - a collection of song length pieces featuring harmonised vocal melody against an orchestra background. There are no lyrics as such, instead the vocalists sing syllables and `words` invented by Jenkins. The Adiemus albums have sold more than 3 million copies in 50 countries. Today, his music is constantly being performed and his recording output has resulted in 17 gold and platinum discs. He is joint president of the British Double Reed Society and patron of the International Schools Choral Music Society. He holds a doctorate of music from the University of Wales, and has been made a fellow and associate of the Royal Academy of Music. His music spans genres, from ballet and symphonic music to BAFTA Award-winning soundtracks and festival winning jazz.
Jenkins was the first international composer and conductor to conduct the University of Johannesburg Kingsway Choir during his visit to South Africa as the choir performed The Armed Man - A Mass for Peace. The Armed Man made the top spot on Classic FM`s best music from a living composer.
Jenkins latest work `The Peacemakers` features text from Gandhi, Martin Luther King, the Dali Lama, Nelson Mandela, Anna Frank and Mother Teresa as well as words from the Bible and the Qur`an with some new text specially written by Terry Waite. In 2015 it was announced that he would receive a knighthood in the Queen`s birthday honours for services to composing and crossing musical genres, the first Welch born composer to be so honoured. .........(Read more....)
KEY DATES.1970 Won first prize at Montreux Jazz festival with his jazz-rock group Nucleus. 1973 Won the Melody Maker Britiah Jazz album of the Year with "Six". Jenkins and Ratledge participated in a live-in-the studio performance of Mike Oldfield`s Tubular Bells for the BBC. 1974 His group `Soft Machine` was voted best small group in the Melody Maker`s jazz poll. 1995 "Adiemus : Songs of Sanctuary" album topped the classical album charts. 2005 Awarded OBE in New Years Honours list. 2008 "The Armed Man" was listed as No. 1 in Classical FM`s "Top 10 by living composers" 2010 Awarded CBE in birthday Honours list. |
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KEY WORKS.1993 - Palladio 1995 - Merry Christmas to the World - a collection of traditional Christmas music orchestrated by Jenkins. 1996 - Diamond Music. 1998 - Imagined Oceans. 1999 - The Armed Man - A mass for Peace - premiered in 2000. 2002 - Over the Stone a double harp concerto. 2003 - Crossing the Stone an album featuring Welsh harpist Catrin Finch. 2004 - Ave Verum for Baritone. In these Sones Horizons sing. 2005 - Requiem. Quirk concertante. River Queen score for the film of the same name. 2006 - Tlep and Kiri sings Karl. 2007 - This Land of Ours. 2008 - Stabat Mater adaptation of a 13th century Roman Catholic poem. The concertos. 2009 - Stella Natalis. 2010 - Gloria/Te Deum 2011 - The Bards of Wales. 2012 - Songs of the Earth and The Peacemakers. |