Edward Higginbottom, DPhil (Oxon), BMus (Cantab), (born 16 November 1946, Kendal) is a music scholar, organist, choirmaster and conductor. Most of his career has been as organist at New College, Oxford, where he led their choir for more than 35 years and produced a large number of choral recordings.

Musical biography

Before moving on to St Mary’s Church in Warwick, Edward was a chorister at his local parish church where he started playing the organ. Edward completed his undergraduate and graduate training as organ scholar of

Corpus Christi College, Cambridge Corpus Christi College (full name: "The College of Corpus Christi and the Blessed Virgin Mary", often shortened to "Corpus"), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. From the late 14th century through to the early 19th century ...

, where he developed a particular interest in French

baroque music Baroque music ( or ) refers to the period or dominant style of Western classical music composed from about 1600 to 1750. The Baroque style followed the Renaissance period, and was followed in turn by the Classical period after a short transit ...

and became a Fellow of the

Royal College of Organists The Royal College of Organists (RCO) is a charity and membership organisation based in the United Kingdom, with members worldwide. Its role is to promote and advance organ playing and choral music, and it offers music education, training and d ...

. He toured regularly in France at that time as director of the Cambridge University Purcell Society. As a graduate student, he spent time in France (1970-1972), studying the organ with

Marie-Claire Alain Marie-Claire Geneviève Alain-Gommier (10 August 1926 – 26 February 2013) was a French organist, scholar and teacher best known for her prolific recording career, with 260 recordings, making her the most-recorded classical organist in the world ...

while working on his doctoral thesis. He was appointed as the Organist and Director of Music at New College, Oxford in 1976. While the main role of the choir is to provide liturgical music for worship, Edward went further, organizing economically viable choir tours and a broad set of musical recordings. By doing so, he "has helped the cause of such institutions through a period when financial constraints and changes in social attitudes have threatened choral foundations". In 1990 he was made an officer, and subsequently a ''Commandeur'' of the

Ordre des Arts et des Lettres The ''Ordre des Arts et des Lettres'' (Order of Arts and Letters) is an order of France established on 2 May 1957 by the Minister of Culture. Its supplementary status to the was confirmed by President Charles de Gaulle in 1963. Its purpose i ...

by the

French Ministry of Culture The Ministry of Culture (french: Ministère de la Culture) is the ministry of the Government of France in charge of national museums and the . Its goal is to maintain the French identity through the promotion and protection of the arts (visual, ...

for "his role in the revival of choir schools in France and support of French cultural activities". In 2010 he formed a new recording label for the Choir, novum, and the choir began experimenting with weekly webcasting of their Evensong services. Retiring from New College in 2014, he continues his musical career as a freelancer. He is the principal conductor of an Oxford ensemble called Instruments of Time and Truth. In spite of his retirement, however, he was named in March 2019 as the Director of Chapel Music at St Peter's College, Oxford for the 2019/20 academic year, pending the appointment of a successor to Jeremy Summerly in 2020.

Personal life

Edward and his wife Caroline have 7 adult children, including his son (who was also a chorister) Orlando, better known professionally as

Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs Orlando Tobias Edward Higginbottom (born 7 March 1986), known professionally as Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs (or TEED), is a British electronic music producer, DJ and singer-songwriter based in the United States. Early life Orlando is ...

, an animal chiropractor, a jeweller, a doctor, a teacher, a timpanist, and a writer. An early episode of ITV’s Inspector Morse featured a character based on Edward Higginbottom (although the suspect, and his obsession with Spangles and Trebor Mints, bears no similarity to the real Edward Higginbottom).

Recordings

Recent recordings include:

Publications related to music

Edward Higginbottom has edited music by François Couperin and Michel Corrette, and written articles on French Baroque music. * "Organ Music and the liturgy", Cambridge Companion to the Organ * "The French classical organ school", Cambridge Companion to the Organ

References

External links

Choir of New College, Oxford

Last FM, Choir of New College

Instruments of Time and Truth
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Higginbottom, Edward Cathedral organists English classical composers Commandeurs of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres Fellows of New College, Oxford 1946 births Living people 20th-century English musicians Fellows of the Royal College of Organists Organists of New College, Oxford 21st-century organists