Ben Parry
b. 1965
British
Summary
Ben Parry has a successful career as a composer, conductor, arranger, singer and producer in both classical and light music fields. He has made over sixty recordings and his compositions and arrangements are published by Edition Peters and Faber Music. He works extensively with young musicians as Director of the National Youth Choirs of Great Britain, having previously held posts at the Royal Academy of Music at St Paul's School, London. Ben is Music Director of Aldeburgh Voices, the resident choir of the Aldeburgh Festival, Assistant Director of Music at King's College, Cambridge and co-Director of London Voices, with whom he has worked on the soundtracks of major films such as Harry Potter, The Hunger Games and The Hobbit.
Biography
Ben Parry has a successful career as a composer, conductor, arranger, singer and producer in both classical and light music fields. He has made over sixty recordings and his compositions and arrangements are published by Edition Peters and Faber Music. He works extensively with young musicians as Director of the National Youth Choirs of Great Britain, having previously held posts at the Royal Academy of Music at St Paul's School, London. Ben is Music Director of Aldeburgh Voices, the resident choir of the Aldeburgh Festival, Assistant Director of Music at King's College, Cambridge and co-Director of London Voices, with whom he has worked on the soundtracks of major films such as Harry Potter, The Hunger Games and The Hobbit.
Ben studied music at Cambridge University, where he was a member of King’s College Choir. Later he was musical director and singer with The Swingle Singers, with whom he toured the world and performed with some of the greatest musicians, including Pierre Boulez, Stephane Grapelli and Dizzy Gillespie. He composed and arranged over fifty pieces for the group. For eight years he lived in Scotland, where he co-founded the Dunedin Consort, and was also Director of the Scottish Chamber Orchestra Chorus, Director of Choral Music at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, and conductor of Haddo House Opera. He has conducted the London Philharmonic Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Royal Symphony Orchestra of Seville, Scottish Ensemble, National Youth Orchestra of Wales, Vancouver Youth Symphony and BBC Singers. As a singer, he has worked with the Gabrieli Consort, Schütz Choir, Taverner Consort and Tenebrae, as well as on many film and TV soundtracks.
He collaborates regularly with author and lyricist Garth Bardsley. Their choral compositions have been performed by the BBC Singers, Tenebrae, Voces8 and church and cathedral choirs worldwide, as well as the BBC Proms and on BBC Radio 3. Commissions include BBC Singers, Norwich Cathedral, Ely Cathedral, Aldeburgh Music and Washington DC Cathedral Choral Society.