Grayston ‘Bill’ Ives (born 1948) is a British composer, singer and choral director. Until March 2009, Ives was Organist, ''Informator Choristarum'' and Fellow and Tutor in Music at

Magdalen College, Oxford Magdalen College (, ) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by William of Waynflete. Today, it is the fourth wealthiest college, with a financial endowment of £332.1 ...

. In this role he was responsible for the daily musical life of the college chapel. He also directed the choir in recordings on the

Harmonia Mundi Harmonia Mundi is an independent record label which specializes in classical music, jazz, and world music (on the World Village label). It was founded in France in 1958 and is now a subsidiary of PIAS Entertainment Group. Its Latin name ''harm ...

label: ''With a Merrie Noyse'', made with the viol consort

Fretwork Fretwork is an interlaced decorative design that is either carved in low relief on a solid background, or cut out with a fretsaw, coping saw, jigsaw or scroll saw. Most fretwork patterns are geometric in design. The materials most commonly us ...

and featuring the works of the English composer Orlando Gibbons, was nominated for a Grammy in 2004. Paul McCartney's ''Ecce Cor Meum'' was written especially for Magdalen College Choir and the subsequent EMI recording won the Classical BRIT Award for Album of the Year in 2007. Other recordings with Magdalen College Choir include ''Listen Sweet Dove'', a selection of Grayston Ives' liturgical works, and Duruflé's ''Requiem''. The choir developed a fruitful relationship with film composer, George Fenton, notably in ''Shadowlands'' (1993), directed by Richard Attenborough. Ives was a chorister at

Ely Cathedral Ely Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of the Holy and Undivided Trinity, is an Anglican cathedral in the city of Ely, Cambridgeshire, England. The cathedral has its origins in AD 672 when St Etheldreda built an abbey church. The presen ...

and later studied music at

Selwyn College, Cambridge Selwyn College, Cambridge (formally Selwyn College in the University of Cambridge) is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1882 by the Selwyn Memorial Committee in memory of George Augustus Selwyn ( ...

, where he held a choral scholarship. After teaching music for a period, he became a member of the

King's Singers The King's Singers are a British a cappella vocal ensemble founded in 1968. They are named after King's College in Cambridge, England, where the group was formed by six choral scholars. In the United Kingdom, their popularity peaked in the 19 ...

, from 1978 to 1985. His voice can be heard on a number of recordings from that period, including Paul McCartney's ''Frog Chorus''. Ives composes as Grayston, but prefers to be known as "Bill", a nickname he acquired at an early age as a result of a role-playing game with his brother. As a composer, Ives' work consists mainly of sacred and secular music for choir, much of it written for the liturgy at

. His "Canterbury

Te Deum The "Te Deum" (, ; from its incipit, , ) is a Latin Christian hymn traditionally ascribed to AD 387 authorship, but with antecedents that place it much earlier. It is central to the Ambrosian hymnal, which spread throughout the Latin Chu ...

" (1991) for SATB and brass quintet was commissioned for the enthronement of

George Carey George Leonard Carey, Baron Carey of Clifton (born 13 November 1935) is a retired Anglican bishop who was the Archbishop of Canterbury from 1991 to 2002, having previously been the Bishop of Bath and Wells. During his time as archbishop the C ...

Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Jus ...

. He was commissioned to compose the centre-piece anthem, "The Gift of Grace", for the National Commemoration Service for the Abolition of Slavery held in Westminster Abbey in March 2007. It was attended by

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

and high-ranking politicians and public figures, including

Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He previously served as Leader of th ...

(British Prime Minister, 1997–2007). Westminster Abbey also commissioned three new arrangements of music by Parry for a new recording (released in Sept 2015): ''I was glad'', ''Hear my words, ye people'', and the ''Coronation Te Deum.'' For his contribution to church music, Ives was awarded a Fellowship of the

Royal School of Church Music The Royal School of Church Music (RSCM) is a Christian music education organisation dedicated to the promotion of music in Christian worship, in particular the repertoire and traditions of Anglican church music, largely through publications, tr ...

(May 2008) and a

Lambeth Lambeth () is a district in South London, England, in the London Borough of Lambeth, historically in the County of Surrey. It is situated south of Charing Cross. The population of the London Borough of Lambeth was 303,086 in 2011. The area expe ...

DMus (July 2008), conferred by Rowan Williams,

. He is also an Emeritus Fellow of Magdalen College, Oxford.

Choral works

*''Canticles and Service Music'' **''Canterbury Te Deum'' **''Missa Brevis'' (1987, for the choir of New College, Oxford) **''The Edington Service'' **''The Exon Service'' **''The Magdalen Service (ATB)'' **''The Salisbury Service'' **''The Warwick Service'' **''Jubilate'' **''Preces and Responses (SATB and ATB)'' *''Anthems (SATB)'' **''A Song of Christ's Glory'' **''A Song of Divine Love'' **''Lord, is it I?'' **''Listen sweet Dove'' (for Whitsun) **''Nova, nova'' **''Let all the world'' **''Nos autem gloriari'' **''O Sacrum Convivium'' **''Sicut lilium'' **''Sweet was the song'' **''The Canticle of Brother Sun'' **''There is a land of pure delight'' **''This is the record of John'' **''Ubi caritas'' **''The Beatitudes'' (girls' voices, for the 10th anniversary of

Derby Cathedral The Cathedral Church of All Saints Derby, better known as Derby Cathedral, is a cathedral church in the city of Derby, England. In 1927, it was promoted from parish church status, to a cathedral, creating a seat for the Bishop of Derby, ...

Girls' Choir) **''Ave Maria (SATB)'' **''All People that on Earth do dwell'' (for patronal festival of St Matthews, Northampton, 2018) *''Three Latin Motets (ATB)'' *''Arrangements'' **''I've got you under my skin'' **''Name that tune'' **''Rise up, shepherd'' *''Three Spirituals'' **''Amazing Grace'' **''Deep River'' **''Were you there?'' *''Three folksongs'' **''Buy broom besoms'' **''The lark in the clear air'' **''The tailor and the mouse''

Organ solo

**''Intrada'' **''Processional'' **''Lullaby'' **''Partita on "Hursley"''

References

External links

Official websiteBiography on King's Singers fansite
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ives, Grayston Living people 1948 births 20th-century classical composers Alumni of Selwyn College, Cambridge English classical composers The King's Singers members English male classical composers 20th-century English composers 20th-century British male musicians