- Howard Goodall
Howard Goodall (born
26 May 1958 ) is a Britishcomposer of musicals, choral music and music for television. He also presents music-based programming for television.Goodall was born in
Bromley ,Kent and educated at the independentNew College School ,Oxford , followed by the independentStowe School inBuckinghamshire and then atLord Williams's School inThame ,Oxfordshire . He also studied music atChrist Church, Oxford .cite web | url =http://www.howardgoodall.co.uk/cds/biog/biog.htm | title = Howard Goodall's official biography | accessdate = 2007-04-24] He is married to Val Fancourt, who is a classical music agent. He is currently the choral patron ofGuildford County School , a specialist music college, and in May 2008 was named as a presenter and composer in residence with the UK radio channelClassic FM [http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2008/may/15/commercialradio.radio] .Works
Musical theatre
His prolific output of
musical theatre works includes "The Hired Man " (1984), an adaptation of thenovel byMelvyn Bragg , which won anIvor Novello award, "Girlfriends" (1986), "Days of Hope" (1991), "Silas Marner " (1993), "The Kissing-Dance" (1999), "The Dreaming" (2001), "The Winter's Tale " (2005) and Two Cities (2006). Goodall worked on original music for a new production called 'King Cotton', a co-commissioned stage show byThe Lowry and the Liverpool Culture Company. However, he amicably withdrew from the production weeks before the opening for reasons unknown, and "any offers for Goodall's unused music will be gratefully received", according to the 16 September, 2007 "Sunday Times" (page 14).Television
He has written popular themes for, among many others, the television comedy series "
Red Dwarf ", "Blackadder ", "Mr Bean ", "The Thin Blue Line", "The Vicar of Dibley ", "The Catherine Tate Show " and "QI ", on which he also appeared on as a guest panelist. It was as an undergraduate at Christ Church, Oxford that he met the actorRowan Atkinson and the writerRichard Curtis , his collaborators on "Not the Nine O'Clock News ", "Blackadder" and other projects.Choral works
Although mostly known for his television work, Goodall has a considerable body of new choral music to his name (the process of composing one of these works is noted in the book of his "Big Bangs" series), including "In Memoriam
Anne Frank " (2001), "O Lord God of Time and Eternity" (2003) and settings ofPsalm 23 and "Love Divine". "Jason and the Argonauts" (2004) was commissioned for the opening of the rebuilt organ at theRoyal Albert Hall in London.Presenting
As well as presenting the
BBC 's "Choir of the Year", "Chorister of the Year" and "Young Musician of the Year", he has presented six award-winning series of television programmes on musical history, filmed byTiger Aspect and broadcast onChannel 4 :* "Howard Goodall's Organworks" (1996) — history of organ music
* "Howard Goodall's Choirworks" (1998) — history ofchoral music
* "Howard Goodall's Big Bangs" (2000) — pivotal events in the history of music (also a book, published by Vintage in 2001, ISBN 0-09-928354-9)
* "Howard Goodall's Great Dates" (2002) — important dates in the history of music
* "Howard Goodall's 20th Century Greats" (2004) — exploring the divergence between classical and popular music in the 20th century
* "Howard Goodall's How Music Works" (2006) — analysing the fundamental components of music itself [http://www.channel4.com/culture/microsites/H/how_music_works/howard_goodall.html] .Goodall received a
Royal Television Society award for "Organworks" and the 2000BAFTA Huw Wheldon award for "Big Bangs", which also won several international prizes.Awards
Awards and honours include an honorary Doctorate of Music from
Bishop Grosseteste University College , Lincoln, aBritish Academy of Composers & Songwriters Gold Badge Award for exceptional work in support of his fellow British composers and a 2007 Making Music/SirCharles Groves Prize for Outstanding Contribution to British Music. In 2007, Goodall was named by the Government as the "Singing Ambassador" as part of a £10 million package to boost music in schools [ [http://www.dfes.gov.uk/pns/DisplayPN.cgi?pn_id=2007_0009 Department for Education and Skills] ] .References
External links
* [http://www.howardgoodall.co.uk/ Howard Goodall's official website]
*imdb name|id=0328759
* [http://www.daysofhope.co.uk/2007 London revival of Days of Hope]
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