Paul Douglas Hillier OBE (born 9 February 1949) is an English conductor, music director and baritone. He specializes in both early and contemporary classical music, especially that by composers Steve Reich and Arvo Pärt. He was a co-founder of the

Hilliard Ensemble The Hilliard Ensemble was a British male vocal quartet originally devoted to the performance of early music. The group was named after the Elizabethan miniaturist painter Nicholas Hilliard. Founded in 1974, the group disbanded in 2014. Althoug ...

and directed the

Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir (EPCC) is a professional choir based in Estonia. It was founded in 1981 by Tõnu Kaljuste, who was its conductor for twenty years. In 2001, Paul Hillier followed Kaljuste's tenure, becoming the EPCC's princi ...

for numerous years. He has been Chief Conductor of Ars Nova (Copenhagen) since 2003, and Artistic Director and Chief Conductor of the National Chamber Choir of Ireland since 2008.

Ensembles

Hillier was born in Dorchester, England in 1949, where he attended Hardye's Grammar School. In 1967 he became a music student at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama, studying voice. In 1974 he co-founded the

along with fellow vicar-choral Paul Elliott, tenor, and counter-tenor David James. His concert debut was in 1974 in London's

Purcell Room The Purcell Room is a concert and performance venue which forms part of the Southbank Centre, one of central London's leading cultural complexes. It is named after the 17th century English composer Henry Purcell and has 370 seats. The Purcell Roo ...

. Hillier remained the director of the ensemble until 1990, when he founded Theatre of Voices. In addition to early music, this group explores more contemporary repertoire. With the Chicago-based ensemble His Majestie's Clerkes Hillier recorded early American repertoire such as the works of

William Billings William Billings (October 7, 1746 – September 26, 1800) is regarded as the first American choral composer and leading member of the First New England School. Life William Billings was born in Boston, Massachusetts. At the age of 14, t ...

on the 1992 album '' A Land of Pure Delight''. Hillier later became Director of the Early Music Institute at the

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. *Indiana Universi ...

Jacobs School of Music The Indiana University Jacobs School of Music in Bloomington, Indiana, is a music conservatory established in 1921. Until 2005, it was known as the Indiana University School of Music. It has more than 1,500 students, approximately half of whom ar ...

where conducted the Pro Arte Singers. He left the E.M.I. in 2003, having meanwhile become Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of the

; he left the position in 2007. Since 2003, Hillier has made his home in Copenhagen, where he is Chief Conductor of Ars Nova (Copenhagen). In 2008, he was appointed Artistic Director and Chief Conductor of the National Chamber Choir of Ireland. He also continues to work with his own group, Theatre of Voices. Hillier has recorded a number of solo albums, some with harpist Andrew Lawrence-King, 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 ...

, ECM, EMI, Finlandia and Hyperion labels.

Academic appointments

Starting in 1980, Hillier has held a variety of academic appointments over the years, most recently as Director of the Early Music Institute at

Indiana University Bloomington Indiana University Bloomington (IU Bloomington, Indiana University, IU, or simply Indiana) is a public research university in Bloomington, Indiana. It is the flagship campus of Indiana University and, with over 40,000 students, its largest ca ...

.Early Music Institute

Publications

*''The Catch Book'' (1987), Oxford University Press, , a collection of catches (comic

round Round or rounds may refer to: Mathematics and science * The contour of a closed curve or surface with no sharp corners, such as an ellipse, circle, rounded rectangle, cant, or sphere * Rounding, the shortening of a number to reduce the number ...

s) edited by Hillier. *''A Josquin Anthology'' (2005), Oxford University Press, , a collection of choral pieces by

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD ...

composer Josquin des Prez, edited by Ross Duffin and Hillier. *''Writing on Music, 1965–2000'' (2002),

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

, , a collection of writings by composer Steve Reich, edited by Hillier. *''Arvo Pärt'' (1997), Oxford University Press, , The first English-language study (including a short biography) of

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

n composer Arvo Pärt. *''English Romantic Partsongs'' (1986), Oxford University Press, , a collection of songs edited by Hillier. *''300 Years of English Partsongs: Glees, Rounds, Catches, Partsongs 1600-1900'' (1983),

Faber & Faber Faber and Faber Limited, usually abbreviated to Faber, is an independent publishing house in London. Published authors and poets include T. S. Eliot (an early Faber editor and director), W. H. Auden, Margaret Storey, William Golding, Samuel ...

, , a collection of music edited by Hillier.

References

External links

Paul Hillier on Bach-Cantatas

Paul Hillier on Harmonia Mundi
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hillier, Paul English operatic baritones British performers of early music Founders of early music ensembles Grammy Award winners People from Dorchester, Dorset 1949 births Living people