Roger Wright (music administrator)
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Roger William Wright
CBE 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 ...
(born 15 August 1956, in
Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
) is an English arts administrator. He is currently the Chief Executive of Britten Pears Arts. Wright was educated at
Chetham's School of Music Chetham's School of Music () is an independent co-educational music school in Manchester, England. Chetham's educates students between the ages of 8 and 18, all of whom enter via musical auditions. Students receive a full academic education alon ...
, Manchester, and played the cello as a youth. He studied music at
Royal Holloway College Royal Holloway, University of London (RHUL), formally incorporated as Royal Holloway and Bedford New College, is a public research university and a constituent college of the federal University of London. It has six schools, 21 academic departm ...
,
University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...
, and earned a
B.Mus. Bachelor of Music (BM or BMus) is an academic degree awarded by a college, university, or music school, conservatory upon completion of a program of study in music. In the United States, it is a professional degree, and the majority of work consi ...
in 1977. On graduation, he took a sabbatical year, 1977–78, as the elected President of the Student Union. From 1978 to 1986, Wright worked at the British Music Information Centre (BMIC), as librarian and manager, then as director. He served as a senior producer for the
BBC Symphony Orchestra The BBC Symphony Orchestra (BBC SO) is a British orchestra based in London. Founded in 1930, it was the first permanent salaried orchestra in London, and is the only one of the city's five major symphony orchestras not to be self-governing. T ...
from 1986 to 1989. He became the artistic administrator of The
Cleveland Orchestra The Cleveland Orchestra, based in Cleveland, is one of the five American orchestras informally referred to as the " Big Five". Founded in 1918 by the pianist and impresario Adella Prentiss Hughes, the orchestra plays most of its concerts at Sev ...
in 1989. He left his Cleveland post in 1992 for
Deutsche Grammophon Deutsche Grammophon (; DGG) is a German classical music record label that was the precursor of the corporation PolyGram. Headquartered in Berlin Friedrichshain, it is now part of Universal Music Group (UMG) since its merger with the UMG family of ...
(DG), where he became an executive director and vice-president, and worked there until 1997. In March 1997, Wright took up the newly created
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
post of Head of Classical Music, in charge of the BBC's orchestras, choirs, and bands. In 1998, he became Controller of Radio 3. During his Radio 3 tenure he raised the profile of
jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...
and world music, causing controversy among listeners. Other Radio 3 programming changes such as a perceived diminution of live music broadcasts also attracted controversy, in addition to a perceived dilution of the level of programming. Wright was named Director of the BBC Proms in April 2007 and formally took up the post in October 2007, succeeding
Nicholas Kenyon Sir Nicholas Roger Kenyon CBE (born 23 February 1951, in Cheshire) is an English music administrator, editor and writer on music. He was responsible for the BBC Proms in 1996–2007, after which he was appointed Managing Director of the Barbican C ...
. In March 2014, he announced his resignation from the BBC to become chief executive at Aldeburgh Music, effective September 2014. When Wright formally stood down as Controller of Radio 3 and of The Proms in Jul
2014
he was the longest serving controller of the station. Following Aldeburgh Music's merger with Snape Maltings in 2015, and Snape Maltings' merger with the Britten-Pears Foundation in 2020, he is currently Chief Executive of Britten Pears Arts, which runs
Snape Maltings Snape Maltings is an arts complex on the banks of the River Alde at Snape, Suffolk, England. It is best known for its concert hall, which is one of the main sites of the annual Aldeburgh Festival. The original purpose of the Maltings was the ma ...
,
The Red House, Aldeburgh The Red House, in the coastal town of Aldeburgh, Suffolk, England, was the home of the composer Benjamin Britten, from 1957 until his death in 1976, and of his partner, Peter Pears, until the latter's death in 1986. It is now the base for the Bri ...
, and the
Aldeburgh Festival The Aldeburgh Festival of Music and the Arts is an English arts festival devoted mainly to classical music. It takes place each June in the Aldeburgh area of Suffolk, centred on Snape Maltings Concert Hall. History of the Aldeburgh Festival Th ...
. In 2002, Wright was awarded an Honorary Fellowship of Royal Holloway College. He is also an Honorary Fellow of 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 ...
and a Fellow of the
Radio Academy The Radio Academy is a registered charity dedicated to "the encouragement, recognition and promotion of excellence in UK broadcasting and audio production". It was formed in 1983 and is run via a board of trustees, with a chair and a deputy chair ...
. His publications include the volume ''New Music 1989'', in collaboration with
Michael Finnissy Michael Peter Finnissy (born 17 March 1946) is an English composer, pianist, and pedagogue. An immensely prolific composer, his music is "notable for its dramatic urgency and expressive immediacy". Although he rejects the label, he is often r ...
. He was appointed
Commander 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 ...
(CBE) in the 2015 New Year Honours for services to music.2015 New Year Honours List
/ref> Wright and his wife Rosie, a yoga teacher, have two children, Alice and William.


References


External links


BBC press biography of Roger Wright


* [https://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/speeches/stories/wrightmusicians.shtml "The Necessity of Re-invention", Speech given by Roger Wright at the Musicians' Benevolent Fund annual luncheon, London, 21 November 2001]
"Awards and Achievements", Royal Holloway College, December 2001

Archived news ("HRH The Prince of Wales visits RCM"), Royal College of Music (web page undated)

Fellows, Radio Academy
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wright, Roger BBC executives People associated with the BBC Proms BBC Radio 3 controllers Living people 1956 births Musicians from Manchester Alumni of Royal Holloway, University of London Commanders of the Order of the British Empire