Philip W J Stopford (born 1977) is an English organist and composer best known for his choral works.Philip Stopford website
Retrieved 3 February 2022.

Early life and training

Stopford began his musical career as a chorister 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 ...

from 1986 to 1990, during which time he also took up the piano, organ and violin. He was awarded a music scholarship to

Bedford School :''Bedford School is not to be confused with Bedford Girls' School, Bedford High School, Bedford Modern School, Old Bedford School in Bedford, Texas or Bedford Academy in Bedford, Nova Scotia.'' Bedford School is a public school (English indep ...

, which he attended from 1990 to 1995. Later he studied for a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

in music at the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

, where from 1996 to 1999 he also served as organ scholar at

Keble College Keble College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its main buildings are on Parks Road, opposite the University Museum and the University Parks. The college is bordered to the north by Keble Road, to th ...

Career

From 1995 to 1996 Stopford was organ scholar at

Truro Cathedral The Cathedral of the Blessed Virgin Mary is a Church of England cathedral in the city of Truro, Cornwall. It was built between 1880 and 1910 to a Gothic Revival design by John Loughborough Pearson on the site of the parish church of St Mary. It i ...

, where he worked under

Andrew Nethsingha Andrew Nethsingha, FRCO, ARCM (born 16 May 1968) is an English choral conductor and organist, the son of the late Lucian Nethsingha, also a cathedral organist. He was appointed Organist and Master of the Choristers at Westminster Abbey in Lo ...

and published his first choral works. After university he was organ scholar at

Canterbury Cathedral Canterbury Cathedral in Canterbury, Kent, is one of the oldest and most famous Christian structures in England. It forms part of a World Heritage Site. It is the cathedral of the Archbishop of Canterbury, currently Justin Welby, leader of the ...

from 1999 to 2000 before becoming Assistant Organist at

Chester Cathedral Chester Cathedral is a Church of England cathedral and the mother church of the Diocese of Chester. It is located in the city of Chester, Cheshire, England. The cathedral, formerly the abbey church of a Benedictine monastery dedicated to Sain ...

. In 2003 he moved to

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

, where he served as Director of Music at St Anne's Cathedral in

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

until the post was closed in 2010. For the next few years Stopford pursued a career as a composer and conductor before being appointed Director of Music at Christ Church in

Bronxville Bronxville is a village in Westchester County, New York, United States, located approximately north of Midtown Manhattan. It is part of the town of Eastchester. The village comprises one square mile (2.5 km2) of land in its entirety, ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, in 2016, having spent part of the previous year there as composer-in-residence. In 2021 he returned to the United Kingdom, where he currently serves as President of the Leighton Buzzard Festival Singers.

Works

Stopford is known for his contemporary ''

a cappella ''A cappella'' (, also , ; ) music is a performance by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Ren ...

'' and accompanied settings of traditional Latin and English prayers and hymns, including "

Ave Verum Corpus "" is a short Eucharistic chant that has been set to music by many composers. It dates to the 13th century, first recorded in a central Italian Franciscan manuscript (Chicago, Newberry Library, 24). A Reichenau manuscript of the 14th century attr ...

", titled "Ave Verum"; "Lullay, My Liking"; the

Coventry Carol The "Coventry Carol" is an English Christmas carol dating from the 16th century. The carol was traditionally performed in Coventry in England as part of a mystery play called ''Coventry Mystery Plays, The Pageant of the Shearmen and Tailors''. ...

, titled "Lully, Lulla, Lullay"; and "In My Father's House". Three of Stopford's works appeared in the

Classic FM Hall of Fame The Classic FM Hall of Fame is an annual compilation of the most popular 300 classical works as polled by listeners of Classic FM through a public vote. With more than 200,000 voters, each choosing their three favourites in order of preference, ...

in 2014, after he made his first appearance on the chart in 2013.The Honourable The Irish Society - 2013 News
Accessed 23 April 2014 He has composed numerous other works, including a

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 Chur ...

, a Latin Mass titled "Missa Deus Nobiscum" and various Latin canticles. Stopford also serves as director of the professional choir Eccelsium, which has released many CDs of his works.

References

External links

*
Ecclesium.co.uk: home to the music of Philip Stopford

Lully Lulla Lullay, performed by Ecclesium, conducted by the composer in Belfast Cathedral
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stopford, Philip 1977 births Living people People educated at Bedford School Alumni of Keble College, Oxford English composers Choral composers English choral conductors British male conductors (music) 21st-century British conductors (music) 21st-century British male musicians British male organists Cathedral organists Male classical organists