User:Pantcheffr/Richard Pantcheff

Richard Pantcheff is a British composer, born in February 1959. He has an international reputation for the composition of high-quality contemporary classical music. His musical career commenced as Head Chorister at Ripon Cathedral in England. During his five years as a music scholar at senior school he corresponded regularly with Benjamin Britten, whose works he studied and extensively performed. Thereafter he graduated in Music at Christ Church, Oxford, (Oxford University) under Simon Preston and Francis Grier.

His compositions are noted for their formal rigour, and their great emotional intensity. He has tended to specialise in composing Choral music, although he has also written a substantial corpus of work for solo Organ, five Sonatas (for Cello and Piano (1984); Cello or Double Bass and Piano (2005); Organ (2005); Bassoon and Organ or Piano (2008); and Violin and Organ (2010)): a Requiem, a String Quartet, and two orchestral works ('On Hearing The Oxford Bells at Eventide' (2002); and 'Nocturne' for Contrabassoon and Orchestra (2008).

Many of his choral works have been commissioned and performed by the major cathedral and collegiate choirs of the UK, Germany, and South Africa. These include the Episcopal Church of Christ the King, Frankfurt; the cathedral choirs of Salisbury, Winchester, St Paul's (London), and Glasgow, as well as Magdalen College, and Lincoln College, Oxford; Christ Church, Oxford, and the Chamber Choir of South Africa. His works have also been performed by choirs all over the United States of America. His Festival Anthem 'King Henry VIII's Apologia" (1996) was commissioned and performed by the choir of Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford, in celebration of the 450th anniversary of the foundation of Christ Church, Oxford.

Much of his output for Choir and for Organ has been published, distributed, and performed around the world, and his choral and organ works have been broadcast in the USA, the UK, the Caribbean, and South Africa. A large number of his compositions have appeared on commercially-released CDs, to wide critical acclaim, most recent of which have been the recordings of 'Five Elizabethan Lyrics' (2002) on the SOMM label, and the 'Sonata for Organ' (2005) on the Herald label. The 'Sonata for Organ' was premiered on the Klais Organ at St John's Smith Square, London, in December 2008 ().

Additionally, he has had much success with 'Hymns of the Cherubim' (2000) which was commissioned for the combined choirs of Salisbury, Winchester, and Chichester Cathedrals for the Southern Cathedrals' Festival in 2000, and 'On Hearing The Oxford Bells At Eventide'(2002), which was premiered at the Sheldonian Theatre in Oxford.

Richard Pantcheff's music has been performed at a number of major festivals including the Newbury Spring Festival; the St Magnus Festival, Orkney; the Victoria Bach Festival, Texas (USA); the Annual Festival of New Organ Music in London; and the New Music Festival in Pretoria, South Africa.

In 2006 he completed a new 'Requiem' for the Choir of St Michael's Cathedral, Bridgetown, Barbados, and his most recent works are 'Nocturne' for Contrabassoon and Orchestra; and a Sonata for Violin and Organ, both of which were commissioned by soloists in South Africa. A number of his choral works have been performed in South Africa, and broadcast on ClassicFM and SAfm.

As a Choral Director he has conducted many events for the Royal School of Church Music, in the UK and in South Africa, and conducted Mozart's 'Requiem' at the Holder's Festival in Barbados (2006). He was appointed Composer in Residence to the Chamber Choir of South Africa in December 2008.

IN May 2009, his anthem 'Spirit of Mercy' (1996) was performed at the Official Inauguration Ceremony of the new President of South Africa, as well as at the Cape Festival of Voices in March 2010, which was boradcast on German TV in June 2010 to co-incide with the opening ceremony of the 2010 FIFA Football World Cup in South Africa. In May 2009, the Chamber Choir of South Africa and the Johannesburg Philharmonic Orchestra premiered the 'Requiem' (2006) at the Linder Auditorium in Johannesburg, South Africa, following broadcasts of other works, and a number of interviews, on ClassicFM. The same forces later that month performed the 'Requiem' a second time, at the ZK Matthews Great Hall, The University of South Aftrica, Pretoria.

Following release on CD, the '12 Short Interludes for Orga' (1994) were given their first concert performance at the Annual Festival of New Organ Music, by Iain Farrington at the Rieger Organ of St Marylebone PArish Church, London.

In October 2009, Richard Pantcheff gave a Masterclass in composition at the ISCM New Music Festival at the University of South Africa in Pretoria, and a number of new choral works were premiered, including the 'Three Short Anthems' (2003) at the Standard Bank Gallery in Johannesburg.

Richard Pantcheff continues to work on new commissions. New works for choir, and for instrumentalists will be appearing in the next few months. Work has already commenced on two further commercially-recorded CDs of his compositions.