Jonathan Willcocks’ formative years were spent in Cambridge, where he was a chorister at King’s College, and, whilst studying for his degree, he held a choral scholarship at Trinity College. Such strong early links with the world of education have been continued into adulthood, with his work as Director of the Junior Academy at the Royal Academy of Music in London. He stepped down from this post at Christmas 2008, and was awarded an Hon RAM, and his musical life now centres on the twin facets of conducting and composing.
As a conductor, Jonathan is musical director of two large adult choruses in the UK: Portsmouth Choral Union and the Chichester Singers. He is conductor of the professional chamber orchestra Southern Pro Musica and is widely sought after as a guest conductor throughout the country. He also travels extensively overseas, working with both choirs and orchestras across five continents: the USA, Canada, France, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Singapore, the Netherlands, Australia and South Africa. 2008 saw the inaugural Leipzig International Choral Festival (for which Jonathan is Artistic Director) in which choirs from across Europe and the USA enjoyed a festival of making music in this beautiful historic city under his inspiring leadership, in repertoire which included his own major work Lux perpetua.
As a composer, Jonathan’s music covers a broad range of choral, orchestral, and instrumental chamber music, much of it written to commissions from choirs, festivals, instrumental ensembles, and television and film companies. The choral music divides into three main categories: major choral works, works for children’s choir, and shorter choral music. Major choral works for SATB include Magnificat, a joyful work for choir and brass group, Lux perpetua, a powerful, 30-minute work written for high schools in Chicago, In the beginning, for soprano solo, SATB choir, and orchestra, and Gloria for SATB. His two most recent pieces in this genre are From Darkness to Light (a work which combines the Latin Requiem Mass with contemporary American poetry), and A Great and Glorious Victory. This last is a powerful work which celebrates not only the great Battle of Trafalgar, but also commemorates the victory of humanity when, in the storm which followed, the sailors fought together to save their colleagues of all three nations.
Jonathan Willcocks receives regular commissions for music for children’s choir. The Pied Piper of Hamelin is a setting of Robert Browning’s famous poetic tale, and Musical Pie is a mixed collection of movements with the theme of childhood. Mayhem! is scored for two-part upper-voice choir with mezzo-soprano soloist, depicting the developing nightmare of a teacher who gradually loses control of her class of unruly children, and Snow White is a re-telling of the famous fairy tale by the brothers Grimm for mezzo soloist, upper-voice choir, and small ensemble. The majority of the shorter choral pieces are sacred, with a handful of secular titles such as Musical Risotto and Three Sea Shanties. Recent Christmas additions include Christmas Pudding (a light-hearted tour of more than 15 carols in four minutes), and In excelsis, a commission from Sargent Cancercare for Children for SATB with piano or organ and optional brass. For other times in the Church’s year, the three newest titles are Let your alleluias rise, a celebratory anthem for SATB choir with brass and organ (written for Fort Wayne, Indiana), Most glorious Lord of Life (commissioned to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Diocese of Derby), and My Hope is in Thee (commissioned by Portsmouth Grammar School).
Jonathan’s music is published by Oxford University Press, the Lorenz group of companies, Prime Music and (for some of the earlier works) Novello. www.jonathanwillcocks.com
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