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Ian Schofield was born in the Lancashire town of Oswaldtwistle in 1949. He studied Composition at the University of Southampton under Dr. Eric Graebner and Prof. Peter Evans. He has lived and taught in Portsmouth since 1972 and is currently a lecturer on the specialist pre-professional music course at South Downs College.
His Christmas sequence Illuminare Jerusalem has had numerous performances throughout Great Britain - including the Royal Albert Hall - as well as performances and a broadcast by choirs in the USA. Part of this work has been recorded by Birmingham Cathedral Choir; the choir of Romsey Abbey has recorded Cantate Domino, a commission for the dedication of the nave-organ. Concerto for two flutes and strings, commissioned by South Downs College, received its second performance in 2001. Schofield's Te Deum has recently received its second performance, with combined choirs of 250 voices. The premiere in 2003 of King Orfeo, for soprano and piano, was given by Jacqueline Pischorn and David Owen Norris (second performance in 2005). For ten years Ian was musical director of Portsmouth Baroque Choir, for which he wrote several works, including Fire From Heaven which was first performed in Portsmouth Cathedral in 1983, with baritone soloist Ian Caddy; it has also been performed by Manchester Cathedral Cantata Choir, and by Malvern Festival Chorus. Earlier commissions include A Whitsuntide Anthem for Southern Television, Preces and Responses for the Cappella Singers in Chichester Cathedral, and an oratorio, Becket, for the 800th anniversary of Portsmouth Cathedral. Schofield is currently writing Sing Alleluia for chorus and orchestra - first two performances in the Petersfield Festival 2006. Parodies and Paraphrases on L'Homme Armé, for Hampshire Recorder Sinfonia and Christopher Burgess, received its first performance in 2005.
In addition to composition and lecturing, Ian also works as a freelance music editor where he specialises in Renaissance and Baroque choral music, and 19th century Italian choral and operatic works. He has prepared performing editions of works by Rossini, Donizetti and Mayr, and more obscure composers such as Mercadante, Pacini and Lillo. His editions have been heard in London concert halls, in Italy and Germany, on BBC Radio 3 and Ireland's RTE Radio, and notably on recordings by Opera Rara.
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Ian Schofield |
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"Ian Schofield is essentially a harmonic composer, with wonderfully catchy outbursts of syncopated, modal melodies - which linger in the mind long after rehearsal. His music can be challenging, but always rewarding; it gives great pleasure to singers and audiences alike."
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