Dr Noël Harwood Tredinnick (born 9 March 1949) is a British composer, organist, orchestrator and conductor. He was awarded a Lambeth DMus degree in March 2002. In Queen Elizabeth's Birthday Honours bestowed in 2021, he received a

British Empire Medal The British Empire Medal (BEM; formerly British Empire Medal for Meritorious Service) is a British and Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth award for meritorious civil or military service worthy of recognition by the Monarchy of the United Ki ...

for life-long services to Church Music and Music Education. Tredinnick has toured extensively in Europe, the US, Australia and South Africa as both lecturer and conductor. He is noted for his many contributions to several hymnals, his regular appearances on the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

Songs of Praise ''Songs of Praise'' is a BBC Television religious programme that presents Christian hymns, worship songs and inspirational performances in churches of varying denominations from around the UK alongside interviews and stories reflecting how Ch ...

, presenting a pair of weekly radio programmes ''All Souls in Praise'' which broadcast on

Premier Christian Radio Premier Christian Radio is a British Christian radio station, part of Premier (a Christian communications organisation), owned by the charity Premier Christian Media Trust. Premier Christian Radio broadcasts Christian programming, including ne ...

, and for his long service (50 years) teaching at London's

Guildhall School of Music and Drama The Guildhall School of Music and Drama is a music school, music and drama school located in the City of London, England. Established in 1880, the school offers undergraduate and postgraduate training in all aspects of classical music and jazz al ...

. He is the founder and Emeritus Conductor of All Souls Orchestra which performs annually at the

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London, England. It has a seating capacity of 5,272. Since the hall's opening by Queen Victoria in 1871, the world's leading artists from many performance genres ...

and throughout the UK under the banner of " Prom Praise" and " Prom Praise for Schools" (PP4S). Tredinnick's organ works have been performed by several notable players, including

George Thalben-Ball Sir George Thomas Thalben-Ball (18 June 1896 – 18 January 1987) was an Australian organist and composer who spent almost all his life in England. Early life George Thomas Ball (he later took the additional name of "Thalben") was born in Sydn ...

, Nicolas Kynaston, David Briggs,

Jeremy Filsell Jeremy Daniel Filsell (born 10 April 1964) is an English pianist, organist and composer who has served as director of music at Saint Thomas Church in New York City since 2019.Gerard Brooks.

Current Positions

He is a Professor of conducting, orchestration and academic studies at the

and has been awarded the title of Emeritus Conductor of the All Souls Orchestra, in recognition of his pioneering legacy in directing Christian musical worship around the world. He continues to conduct the orchestra in tours of the UK and around the world, in partnership with his successor, Michael Andrews. Dr Tredinnick currently serves as Music Leader at St Paul's Church, Herne Hill, a parish in South East London, since February 2024. Additionally, he has two weekly programmes as a broadcaster on Premier Radio. Tredinnick's arranging style combines traditional hymns and Christian songs with harmonies from jazz and modernist music, making frequent use of chromaticism and dissonance. His trademark sound is euphoric, uplifting and spontaneous, with an inclusive feel. He is generally regarded as one of the UK's foremost church musicians. Tredinnick has been involved with the

Jubilate Group The Jubilate Group is a Christian publishing house that administers copyright for more than sixty composers and writers. The group was founded by Michael Baughen in the 1960s. The group's first production was '' Youth Praise''. In 1982, Jubilate ...

for many years, which is concerned with updating old-fashioned language in hymnody and for publishing new musical resources for congregations; he is now a Director of the group.

All Souls Orchestra

In December 1971 Tredinnick was appointed Organist and Director of Music at the church of All Souls, Langham Place, in the heart of the West End of London: he retired from leadership in 2019. He founded the All Souls Orchestra on the instruction of the then rector, the hymnwriter

Michael Baughen Michael Alfred Baughen (born 7 June 1930) is a retired Church of England, Anglican bishop. Born in Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, he was educated at Ravensbourne School (Bromley), Bromley County Grammar School, the University of London and Oak Hil ...

, and has since conducted the orchestra at many Christian events, services and festivals in the UK and internationally. The orchestra is well-known as a distinctive voice in Christian worship, providing uplifting accompaniments to hymns and popular songs as well as performing classical works in a Christian context. Tredinnick is known for his expansive, expressive and personal style of directing and coaxing, as well as for his persuasive eye-contact and personable manner. He has conducted the orchestra alongside several notable singers and songwriters including

Cliff Richard Sir Cliff Richard (born Harry Rodger Webb; 14 October 1940) is a British singer and actor. He has total sales of over 21.5 million singles in the United Kingdom and, as of 2012, was the third-top-selling artist in UK Singles Chart histo ...

, Keith and Kristyn Getty, and Stuart Townend. The orchestra performed alongside Richard on a BBC ''Songs of Praise'' episode entitled "The Gospel According to Cliff". He continues to work with notable Christian artists, both established and new, including Paul Baloche, Christy Nockels, Matt Redman, Tim Hughes, Graham Kendrick, Ben Cantelon, Noel Robinson, Reuben Morgan of Hillsong, and classical soprano Joanne Lunn. Tredinnick was awarded the

(BEM) in the

2021 Birthday Honours The Queen's Birthday Honours for 2021 are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded ...

for services to church music and music education.

Other work

Tredinnick has released a recording of operatic arias for soprano with Vania Vatralova-Stankov and the Sofia Symphony Orchestra, and a celtic/rock fusion album (''Woven Chord'') with the band Iona. His arrangements of traditional hymns continue to be popular in the Christian community, with favourities including his arrangements of 'Londonderry Air' and 'Blaenwern' ('Love Divine All Loves Excelling'). These arrangements use alternative and sometimes surprising chords to adjust the music and emphasise the emotional quality of certain words or themes. He is also the composer of the well-known hymn tune 'Old Yeavering'- written for Michael Perry's 'Like a Mighty River Flowing', and several widely-adopted arrangements of popular hymns including 'A Purple Robe' by

Timothy Dudley-Smith Timothy Dudley-Smith (26 December 1926 – 12 August 2024) was a bishop of the Church of England and a noted hymnwriter. He wrote around 400 hymns, including "Tell Out, My Soul". Early life and education Dudley-Smith was born on 26 December 19 ...

. He is a contributor to the hymn book 'Mission Praise', and was on the music editorial panel for the publications: Hymns for Today's Church, 'Carol Praise' and 'Sing Glory', among others. Tredinnick was responsible for much of the congregational music at former Archbishop of Canterbury

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 ...

's enthronement in April 1991 in Canterbury Cathedral. He introduced a more contemporary language to a service, which up to that point, had primarily embraced a more traditional language. Tredinnick believes that new music is the natural result of faith. He has written that "Creativity goes hand in hand with an alive experience of the Lord, as Christians express their own love and share their faith in words."

Works

Organ

* ''Brief Encounters'' * ''Side by side'' * ''Come forth with joy''

Hymnody

* Argent * Come Rejoice * Enigma * God of Unchanging Grace * God Whose Love is Everywhere * Gracious God * Jubilate Deo * Old Yeavering * Revelation * Victor's Crown * Whitsun Psalm

Partial discography

* (All Souls Orchestra) (2018). ''Prom Praise: Christmas.'' conducted by Noël Tredinnick and Michael Andrews. * * * *Beverley Trotman, Joanne Lunn, Grace Yeo et al. (All Souls Orchestra) (2010). ''Prom Praise – How Great Thou Art''. * *Sarah Stroh, Doug Walker, and Gerard Brooks et al. (All Souls Orchestra) (2005). ''Prom Praise: Moved by Compassion''. conducted by Noël Tredinnick. *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tredinnick, Noel English organists British male organists English composers British Christian hymnwriters English hymnwriters English conductors (music) British male conductors (music) 1949 births Living people 21st-century British conductors (music) 21st-century British organists 21st-century British male musicians Recipients of the British Empire Medal People educated at St Olave's Grammar School