Liam Lawton is a multi platinum,Liam Lawton Biography
at www.kandle.ie (accessed 14 May 2008) Irish, singer-songwriter and

Roman Catholic priest The priesthood is the office of the ministers of religion, who have been commissioned ("ordained") with the Holy orders of the Catholic Church. Technically, bishops are a priestly order as well; however, in layman's terms ''priest'' refers only ...

Education

He received his theological training at

St Patrick's College, Maynooth St Patrick's Pontifical University, Maynooth ( ga, Coláiste Naoimh Phádraig, Maigh Nuad), is the "National Seminary for Ireland" (a Roman Catholic college), and a pontifical university, located in the town of Maynooth, from Dublin, Ireland. ...

, where he was influenced by

Sean Lavery Sean Lavery (1931–1999) was a Roman Catholic priest for the Missionary Society of St. Columban ("''The Columbans''") and a church music director. Lavery was born in Lurgan, County Armagh. Shortly after his ordination in 1954, Father Lavery mo ...

, the Director of Sacred Music. He was ordained in 1984 and was based in a parish in

Carlow Carlow ( ; ) is the county town of County Carlow, in the south-east of Ireland, from Dublin. At the 2016 census, it had a combined urban and rural population of 24,272. The River Barrow flows through the town and forms the historic bounda ...

. He later worked as a teacher at St Mary's Knockbeg College.

Musical career

Discovered in 2004 by record giants

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its break-up in 201 ...

who signed him for a number of albums. His EMI début, ''Another World'', was released in Ireland later that year. This album achieved

double platinum Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

status and was followed by his second album ''Time'' which also was hugely successful.LIAM LAWTON NEW ALBUM: TIME RELEASED: 4TH NOVEMBER 2005
at www.tenortours.com (accessed 14 May 2008) ''Time'' was recorded by Martin Quinn at JAM Studios, Ireland and with the

National Philharmonic Orchestra The National Philharmonic Orchestra was a British orchestra created exclusively for recording purposes. It was founded by RCA Records producer and conductor Charles Gerhardt and orchestra leader and contractor Sidney Sax. The orchestra was created ...

in the city of

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

. Lawton's music has been recognized for its unique quality. Liam's

choral A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which ...

music is used by

choirs A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which sp ...

all over the English-speaking world and has been translated into Spanish, German and

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

. In the year 2000 Liam's work was recognized in the United States when he was invited to compose a work for the Irish American community in Chicago under the patronage of Mayor Richard Daley and his wife Maggie. This work was performed in Chicago Symphony Center with narrator screen veteran

Gregory Peck Eldred Gregory Peck (April 5, 1916 – June 12, 2003) was an American actor and one of the most popular film stars from the 1940s to the 1970s. In 1999, the American Film Institute named Peck the 12th-greatest male star of Classic Hollywood ...

. In the 10 years of the events existence Liam is the only composer that has been invited to return at least four times and has had such guest artists as

John Cusack John Paul Cusack (; born June 28, 1966)(28 June 1996)Today's birthdays ''Santa Cruz Sentinel'', ("Actors John Cusack is 30") is an American actor, producer, screenwriter and political activist. He is a son of filmmaker Dick Cusack, and his ol ...

and

John Malkovich John Malkovich (born December 9, 1953) is an American actor. He is the recipient of several accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award, in addition to nominations for two Academy Awards, a British Academy Film Award, two Screen Actors Guild Aw ...

narrate his work. Over this time Liam has also toured Sweden and

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

achieving top ten status in the Norwegian Charts. In 2006, Lawton performed and record his new compositions. Set in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

’s docklands this event was the first of its kind to be staged on water in Ireland's capital. The concert which took place over two nights was recorded for high definition DVD/CD release in to the US and Worldwide markets in 2007. This unique special event, with a stunning

stage design Scenic design (also known as scenography, stage design, or set design) is the creation of theatrical, as well as film or television scenery. Scenic designers come from a variety of artistic backgrounds, but in recent years, are mostly trained ...

Alan Farquharson Alan may refer to: People *Alan (surname), an English and Turkish surname *Alan (given name), an English given name **List of people with given name Alan ''Following are people commonly referred to solely by "Alan" or by a homonymous name.'' *Al ...

, featured guests Roisin O'Reilly and

boy soprano A boy soprano (British and especially North American English) or boy treble (only British English) is a young male singer with an unchanged voice in the soprano range, a range that is often still called the treble voice range (in North America ...

Joseph McManners Joseph McManners (born 3 December 1992) is an English singer-songwriter, musician and actor. Personal life McManners is the son of musician and writer Hugh McManners and Deborah McManners.Interview from thLimited Edition Japanese DVD releaseo ...

,Joseph McManners Official News Updates
at www.joemcmanners.com (accessed 14 May 2008) the full Irish Film Orchestra and Chorus along with traditional

Irish instruments Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

. The event was attended by almost 5,000 people. The orchestral arrangements were done by the world-renowned composer and arranger

Nick Ingman Nicholas Ingman (born 29 April 1948) is an English arranger, composer and conductor in the commercial music field. His collaborators include Paul McCartney, Mick Jagger, Björk, and the British X-factor. Born and educated in London, Ingman moved ...

whose films include

Shakespeare in Love ''Shakespeare in Love'' is a 1998 romantic period comedy-drama film directed by John Madden, written by Marc Norman and playwright Tom Stoppard, and produced by Harvey Weinstein. It stars Gwyneth Paltrow, Joseph Fiennes, Geoffrey Rush, Col ...

, Cold Mountain,

Billy Elliot ''Billy Elliot'' is a 2000 British coming-of-age comedy-drama film directed by Stephen Daldry and written by Lee Hall. Set in County Durham in North East England during the 1984–1985 miners' strike, the film is about a working-class boy wh ...

and Finding Neverland.Liam Lawton – Biography
at www.windowsmedia.com (accessed 14 May 2008)

References

External links

Official Website
This link is broken {{DEFAULTSORT:Lawton, Lawton Irish male singers Irish folk singers Living people 21st-century Irish Roman Catholic priests Alumni of St Patrick's College, Maynooth Year of birth missing (living people)