Harry Alexander Clarence Bicket (born 1961) is a British
conductor,
harpsichordist
A harpsichordist is a person who plays the harpsichord. Harpsichordists may play as soloists, as accompanists, as chamber musicians, or as members of an orchestra, or some combination of these roles. Solo harpsichordists may play unaccompanied son ...
and
organist
An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ (music), organ. An organist may play organ repertoire, solo organ works, play with an musical ensemble, ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumentalist, instrumental ...
. He is particularly associated with the
baroque
The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...
and
classical repertoire.
Bicket was educated at
Radley College
Radley College, formally St Peter's College, Radley, is a public school (independent boarding school for boys) near Radley, Oxfordshire, England, which was founded in 1847. The school covers including playing fields, a golf course, a lake, and ...
,
Christ Church, Oxford
Christ Church ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniqu ...
, where he was an organ scholar, and the
Royal College of Music
The Royal College of Music is a music school, conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the Undergraduate education, undergraduate to the Doctorate, doctoral level in a ...
. Before
Oxford
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
, he was an organ scholar at
St George's Chapel, Windsor
St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle in England is a castle chapel built in the late-medieval Perpendicular Gothic style. It is both a Royal Peculiar (a church under the direct jurisdiction of the monarch) and the Chapel of the Order of the Gart ...
. Afterwards, he was sub-organist at
Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the United ...
, during which time he performed at the
wedding
A wedding is a ceremony where two people are united in marriage. Wedding traditions and customs vary greatly between cultures, ethnic groups, religions, countries, and social classes. Most wedding ceremonies involve an exchange of marriage vo ...
of
Sarah Ferguson and
Prince Andrew
Prince Andrew, Duke of York, (Andrew Albert Christian Edward; born 19 February 1960) is a member of the British royal family. He is the younger brother of King Charles III and the third child and second son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince ...
. He first performed on the harpsichord in 1983 at
The Proms
The BBC Proms or Proms, formally named the Henry Wood Promenade Concerts Presented by the BBC, is an eight-week summer season of daily orchestral classical music concerts and other events held annually, predominantly in the Royal Albert Hal ...
as an emergency deputy, his first-ever public performance on harpsichord.
As a conductor, Bicket became known when he stood in as a replacement to conduct Peter Sellars' production of
Handel
George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel (; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concertos. Handel received his training i ...
's opera ''
Theodora
Theodora is a given name of Greek origin, meaning "God's gift".
Theodora may also refer to:
Historical figures known as Theodora
Byzantine empresses
* Theodora (wife of Justinian I) ( 500 – 548), saint by the Orthodox Church
* Theodora o ...
'' with
Dawn Upshaw
Dawn Upshaw (born July 17, 1960) is an American soprano. She is the recipient of several Grammy Awards and has released a number of Edison Award-winning discs; she performs both opera and art song, and her repertoire spans Baroque to contempor ...
,
Lorraine Hunt Lieberson
Lorraine Hunt Lieberson (March 1, 1954 – July 3, 2006) was an American mezzo-soprano. She was noted for her performances of both Baroque era and contemporary works. Her career path to becoming a singer was unconventional – formerly a pr ...
and
David Daniels, at the
Glyndebourne Festival
Glyndebourne Festival Opera is an annual opera festival held at Glyndebourne, an English country house near Lewes, in East Sussex, England.
History
Under the supervision of the Christie family, the festival has been held annually since 1934, ...
in 1996. In 2003, Bicket made his
Covent Garden
Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist si ...
debut conducting
Handel
George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel (; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concertos. Handel received his training i ...
's ''
Orlando
Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures re ...
'' with the
Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment
The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment (OAE) is a British period instrument orchestra. The OAE is a resident orchestra of the Southbank Centre, London, associate orchestra at Glyndebourne Festival Opera Artistic Associate at Kings Place, and h ...
(OAE). In 2004, Bicket made his first appearance at the
Metropolitan Opera
The Metropolitan Opera (commonly known as the Met) is an American opera company based in New York City, resident at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, currently situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The company is operat ...
in a production of ''Rodelinda'' with
Renée Fleming
Renée Lynn Fleming (born February 14, 1959) is an American soprano, known for performances in opera, concerts, recordings, theater, film, and at major public occasions. A recipient of the National Medal of Arts, Fleming has been nominated for ...
in the title role. He returned to Handel and the Met in 2020, conducting a production new to that house of ''
Agrippina''.
In October 2006, Bicket was named music director of
The English Concert
The English Concert is a baroque orchestra playing on period instruments based in London. Founded in 1972 and directed from the harpsichord by Trevor Pinnock for 30 years, it is now directed by harpsichordist Harry Bicket. Nadja Zwiener ha ...
, and formally assumed the post in September 2007, his first orchestral directorship. He first worked with The English Concert as a harpsichordist in 1984. Bicket has conducted commercial recordings with The English Concert for
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 ...
.
Bicket first conducted at
Santa Fe Opera
Santa Fe Opera (SFO) is an American opera company, located north of Santa Fe, New Mexico. After creating the ''Opera Association of New Mexico'' in 1956, its founding director, John Crosby (conductor), John Crosby, oversaw the building of the fir ...
(SFO) in 2004, in a production of ''
Agrippina''. He returned to SFO as conductor for subsequent productions of ''
Platée
''Platée'' is an opera in a prologue and three acts by Jean-Philippe Rameau with a libretto by Adrien-Joseph Le Valois d'Orville. Rameau bought the rights to the libretto ''Platée ou Junon jalouse'' (''Plataea, or Juno Jealous'') by Jacques Au ...
'' (2007) and ''Radamisto'' (2008). In April 2013, SFO named Bicket its next chief conductor, effective 1 October 2013.
Although the formal press release did not indicate a specific time length of Bicket's initial contract, SFO general director
Charles MacKay Charles (or Charlie) Mackay, McKay, or MacKay may refer to:
* Charles Mackay (author) (1814–1889), Scottish poet, journalist, author, anthologist, novelist, and songwriter
* Charles McKay (1855–1883), American naturalist and explorer
* Charles ...
stated an informal duration of 4–5 years. In November 2016, Santa Fe Opera announced the extension of Bicket's contract as chief conductor through 30 September 2020. In February 2018, Santa Fe Opera announced the elevation of Bicket's title from chief conductor to music director of the company, effective 1 October 2018. In October 2018, Santa Fe Opera announced the extension of Bicket's contract with the company, as music director, through the 2023 season.
In addition to recording with The English Concert, Bicket has conducted commercial recordings with other ensembles for various labels, including Decca, Avie, and EMI.
He was appointed
Officer of the Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
(OBE) in the
2022 Birthday Honours for services to music.
Bicket is married to the environmental scholar Audrey de Nazelle, of
Imperial College London
Imperial College London (legally Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom. Its history began with Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria, who developed his vision for a cu ...
. The family resides in London.
References
External links
Askonas Holt agency biography of Harry Bicket
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bicket, Harry
British harpsichordists
English choral conductors
English classical organists
British male organists
Living people
1961 births
People educated at Radley College
Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford
Alumni of the Royal College of Music
Musicians from Liverpool
British performers of early music
English conductors (music)
British male conductors (music)
20th-century organists
20th-century British conductors (music)
20th-century English musicians
21st-century organists
21st-century British conductors (music)
21st-century English musicians
20th-century British male musicians
21st-century British male musicians
Officers of the Order of the British Empire
Male classical organists