NICHOLAS WHITE is a Grammy nominated composer and conductor, as well as a versatile organist, pianist and singer, with experience in many different styles of music. Nicholas gives
frequent performances throughout the United States, and has a steady
stream of commissions from musical organizations across the country. He
is Artistic Director of Joyful Noise (Chorus Angelicus & Gaudeamus), a musical organization based in
Northwest Connecticut, that supports five choral ensembles, involving
over one hundred singers, age 5 to adult. He is Organist and
Choirmaster of St. John's Episcopal Church, Beverly Farms, MA, and is
also Founding Music Director of the New York City vocal ensemble,
Tiffany Consort.
Nicholas was born in London, England,
and received his early musical training as a treble chorister. He held
his first organist and choirmaster position at the age of fifteen,
going on to become organ scholar of Clare College, Cambridge, from
1986-1989. Since coming to the U.S.
in 1989, Nicholas has held various positions in churches, colleges and
schools. From 1994-1998 he was Assistant Organist and Choirmaster of
Washington National Cathedral in Washington, DC, and was also Keyboard
Artist for the Cathedral Choral Society. He was Music Director and
Conductor of the Woodley Ensemble, one of Washington’s premiere chamber choirs, from 1997-2000, and was Organist and Choirmaster of St. Michael’s Church, New York City from 1998 – 2005. From 2006-2007 Nicholas was Organist and Choirmaster of All Saints’ Episcopal Church, Philadelphia, PA and Composer-in-Residence at Philadelphia Cathedral. In 2003 White founded Tiffany Consort, a New York City based ensemble of eight accomplished singers. The group's first CD, "O Magnum Mysterium" was nominated for a Grammy, and the second CD, "In Sure and Certain Hope: Choral Music of Nicholas White", was released in December 2006.
Nicholas
is an active and critically acclaimed composer, with music published by
Hinshaw, Trinitas, Augsburg Fortress and Oxford University Press. His
large-scale work for solo soprano, chorus, organ, brass and percussion
-"Magnificat" - was premiered at the National Cathedral in 1997, and
was performed in a newly orchestrated version in May 2009. Other
commissions include "Full Freedom", a piece for multiple choirs, instrumentalists and dancers, written for the annual choral tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in January 2002 at The Kennedy Center in WashingtonDC. White has received numerous commissions from choirs across the country, most recently from the Hanson Institute for American Music (Eastman School of Music, Rochester, NY), Lyric Fest (Philadelphia, PA), Christchurch Cathedral (Cincinnati, OH), The Commonwealth Youthchoirs (Philadelphia, PA), and The Chancel Choir (Lubbock, TX).
"...White is a talented
and tuneful composer...There are many moments of great beauty and spinal chills
on this recording."
Audiophile Audition
"...a handsome anthology...[Nicholas White's 'Magnum Mysterium'] is delightful as is the concluding 'Alleluia' and 'Hodie'...The eight voices [of Tiffany Consort] are youthful, bright and clear, and the conductor has them modifying vocal color, arching phrases and milking suspensions with the best of them..." American Record Guide
"...and the pick hit of the whole CD, the Magnificat of...Nicholas White...a joyously contemporary reflection..." The Washington Times
"Unashamedly beautiful,
Nicholas White’s choral music makes you think about the function of music and
how a composer decides on the rightness of its design. … White’s music never
cloys ... It’s beautifully crafted, the manner of word-setting stemming very
much from the English choral tradition...”
International Record Review
"...renditions distinguished by their musicality and polish...exhilarating performances." The American Organist
"...pure tone [and] textural transparency...This disc makes for an impressive introduction [to The Tiffany Consort]. The choral sound is bright, well blended and finely tuned...there's a sense of rhythmic unity to the singing... the singing is intimate, rapt and wonderfully alive...A promising debut...the recording is flattering."
The Gramophone
" The purity of tone, clarity
of diction, and blended ensemble are worthy of established groups that have
sung together much longer. This is more than just a Christmas disc, an
impressive debut." Fanfare
Copyright 2005 Nicholas White. All rights reserved.