Philip Pickett (born 17 November 1950) is an English musician. Pickett was director of

early music Early music generally comprises Medieval music (500–1400) and Renaissance music (1400–1600), but can also include Baroque music (1600–1750). Originating in Europe, early music is a broad musical era for the beginning of Western classical m ...

ensembles including the

New London Consort New London Consort was a London-based Renaissance and Baroque music ensemble, which performed in most of Europe and various other parts of the world. Founded and directed by Philip Pickett, most of its repertoire was recorded and broadcast by BBC ...

, and taught at the

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

. He played recorders,

shawm The shawm () is a Bore_(wind_instruments)#Conical_bore, conical bore, double-reed woodwind instrument made in Europe from the 12th century to the present day. It achieved its peak of popularity during the medieval and Renaissance periods, after ...

s and similar instruments. In February 2015, Pickett received an 11-year prison sentence for the rape and sexual assault of pupils at the school.

Early life

Born in London but raised in

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...

, he began playing the

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...

while a student at

Marling School Marling School is a grammar school with academy status for boys, with a co-educational Sixth Form located in Stroud, Gloucestershire, England. It is on the Cainscross Road, the main route out of Stroud towards the M5, and is situated next to the ...

Stroud Stroud is a market town and civil parish in Gloucestershire, England. It is the main town in Stroud District. The town's population was 13,500 in 2021. Below the western escarpment of the Cotswold Hills, at the meeting point of the Five ...

. There he met Antony Baines and

David Munrow David John Munrow (12 August 194215 May 1976) was a British musician and early music historian. Early life and education Munrow was born in Birmingham where both his parents taught at the University of Birmingham. His mother, Hilda Ivy (né ...

, who encouraged him to try early woodwind instruments such as the

recorder Recorder or The Recorder may refer to: Newspapers * ''Indianapolis Recorder'', a weekly newspaper * ''The Recorder'' (Massachusetts newspaper), a daily newspaper published in Greenfield, Massachusetts, US * ''The Recorder'' (Port Pirie), a news ...

and

rackett The rackett, raggett, cervelas, or sausage bassoon is a Renaissance-era double reed wind instrument, introduced late in the sixteenth century and already superseded by bassoons at the end of the seventeenth century. Description There are fou ...

. He studied at the

. Pickett was forced to give up the trumpet after being kicked in the mouth while being assaulted on the

London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or by its nickname the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent ceremonial counties of England, counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and He ...

at the end of his first year.

Career

Pickett played for the

Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields The Academy of St Martin in the Fields (ASMF) is an English chamber orchestra, based in London. John Churchill, then Master of Music at the London church of St Martin-in-the-Fields, and Neville Marriner founded the orchestra as "The Academy o ...

the English Concert The English Concert is a baroque orchestra playing on period instruments based in London. Founded in 1972 and directed from the harpsichord by Trevor Pinnock for 30 years, it is now directed by harpsichordist Harry Bicket. Nadja Zwiener has be ...

, the

English Chamber Orchestra The English Chamber Orchestra (ECO) is a British chamber orchestra based in London. The full orchestra regularly plays concerts at Cadogan Hall, and their ensemble performs at Wigmore Hall. The orchestra regularly tours in the UK and internationall ...

and the

London Mozart Players London Mozart Players (LMP) are a British chamber orchestra founded in 1949. LMP are the longest-established chamber orchestra in the United Kingdom. Since 1989, the orchestra has been Resident Orchestra at Fairfield Halls, Croydon. History B ...

. In 1976 he joined the

Albion Band The Albion Band, also known as The Albion Country Band, The Albion Dance Band, and The Albion Christmas Band, were a British folk rock band, originally brought together and led by musician Ashley Hutchings. Generally considered one of the m ...

, a folk-rock band led by

Ashley Hutchings Ashley Stephen Hutchings, MBE, sometimes known in early years by his nickname, "Tyger" Hutchings (born 26 January 1945) is an English bassist, vocalist, songwriter, arranger, band leader, writer and record producer. He was a founding member of t ...

that included John Sothcott, . They played a mixture of traditional folk music and medieval tunes on a wide range of instruments –

curtal The dulcian is a Renaissance woodwind instrument, with a double reed and a folded conical bore. Equivalent terms include en, curtal, german: Dulzian, french: douçaine, nl, dulciaan, it, dulciana, es, bajón, and pt, baixão. The predeces ...

crumhorn The crumhorn is a double reed instrument of the woodwind family, most commonly used during the Renaissance period. In modern times, particularly since the 1960s, there has been a revival of interest in early music, and crumhorns are being play ...

bagpipe Bagpipes are a woodwind instrument using enclosed reeds fed from a constant reservoir of air in the form of a bag. The Great Highland bagpipes are well known, but people have played bagpipes for centuries throughout large parts of Europe, Nor ...

s, rackets,

chalumeau The chalumeau (; ; plural chalumeaux) is a single-reed woodwind instrument of the late baroque and early classical eras. The chalumeau is a folk instrument that is the predecessor to the modern-day clarinet. It has a cylindrical bore with e ...

x and

synthesiser A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and f ...

. In 1988 Pickett released his only solo album, called ''The Alchemist''. A collaboration with Richard Thompson and members of

Fairport Convention Fairport Convention are an English folk rock band, formed in 1967 by guitarists Richard Thompson and Simon Nicol, bassist Ashley Hutchings and drummer Shaun Frater (with Frater replaced by Martin Lamble after their first gig.) They started o ...

in 1998 resulted in the release of '' The Bones of All Men'', consisting of early music tunes with a modern rock

rhythm section A rhythm section is a group of musicians within a music ensemble or band that provides the underlying rhythm, harmony and pulse of the accompaniment, providing a rhythmic and harmonic reference and "beat" for the rest of the band. The rhythm sec ...

and

electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar (however combinations of the two - a semi-acoustic guitar and an electric acoustic gui ...

. In 1993 he became artistic director of the

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 England, English composer Henry Purcell and has 370 seats. The Pu ...

Early Music series, and in the same year was appointed director of Early Music at

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

Globe Theatre The Globe Theatre was a theatre in London associated with William Shakespeare. It was built in 1599 by Shakespeare's playing company, the Lord Chamberlain's Men, on land owned by Thomas Brend and inherited by his son, Nicholas Brend, and gra ...

. The Musicians of the Globe ensemble specialised in English music from the 16th and 17th centuries. Pickett simultaneously led the New London Consort, which had a wider repertoire covering English, Spanish, Italian and German medieval and Renaissance music. From 1994 to 1997 he was founder and director of the Aldeburgh Early Music Festival. Pickett taught freelance, mainly at the

, London, from 1972 to 1997. His time at Guildhall later came under scrutiny after his 2013 arrest.

Sexual abuse conviction

After the revelations in 2012–13 of the

Jimmy Savile sexual abuse scandal It emerged in late 2012 that Jimmy Savile, an English media personality who had died the previous year, sexually abused hundreds of people throughout his life, most of them children but some as old as 75, and most of them female. He had been we ...

, a former student was referred by Suffolk Police to the specialist investigation team within the

City of London Police The City of London Police is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement within the City of London, including the Middle and Inner Temples. The force responsible for law enforcement within the remainder of the London region, ou ...

. The woman, who was 16 in 1978, later testified that during a lesson Pickett told her to take her top off and lie down in a darkened practice room to "improve her breathing", on later occasions sexually assaulting and raping her. Police arrested Pickett on 4 December 2013, after which further victims came forward. His arrest was not part of the high-profile sex crime investigation

Operation Yewtree Operation Yewtree was a British police investigation into sexual abuse allegations, predominantly the abuse of children, against the English media personality Jimmy Savile and others. The investigation, led by the Metropolitan Police Service ( ...

. It was said at his trial that allegations against Pickett dated back to 1984, when a family complained to the school about him attacking their 17-year-old daughter; they were allegedly told by the school that she should have her lessons elsewhere as no one else had complained. Police discovered evidence within the archives of the school that in 1984 the then principal

John Hosier John Hosier CBE (18 November 1928 – 28 March 2000) was an English musical educator. He was born with stunted fingers so was unable to play most musical instruments himself. Later in life, when asked about his hands by children, he said h ...

had written to Pickett, asking him to discuss the allegations. Hosier passed police a letter regarding the allegations and his frustrations, but the following year the Guildhall School made Pickett a fellow. On 10 February 2015 Pickett was found guilty of two rapes and two indecent assaults carried out in soundproof rooms at the Guildhall School between 1979 and 1983. After his conviction, Pickett’s defence team tried to delay sentencing to accommodate Pickett’s commitment to arrange three music festivals. Judge Charles Wide sentenced Pickett on 20 February 2015 to a total of 11 years, and ordered that two further indictments in relation to allegations by two women dating back to the 1970s lie on file. Pickett was cleared of six further counts of indecent assault.

Discography

With the Albion Band

;Albums *''Dancing Days Are Here Again'' (2007, recorded 1976) *''The Prospect Before Us'' (1977) *''Rise up Like The Sun'' (1978) *''The BBC Sessions'' (1998, recorded 1973–1978) *''Stella Maris'' (1987) ;Singles *"Hopping Down in Kent"/"Merry Sherwood Rangers" (1976) *"The Postman's Knock"/"La Sexte Estampie Real" (1977) *"Poor Old Horse"/"Ragged Heroes" (1978) *"Pain and Paradise"/"Lay Me Low" (1979)

With the New London Consort

*''Elizabeth and Jacobean Concert'' *''Music from the Time of Columbus'' *''Ars Subtilior'' *''Llibre Vermell'' *''Biber and Schmelzer Trumpet Music'' *''Biber Requiem'' *''O Primavera'' *''Trionfi'' *''Las Ensaladas'' *''Mad Songs'' *''The Songs of Oswald von Wolkenstein'' *''Telemann Concertos'' *''Pilgrimage to Santiago'' *''Monteverdi Vespers (1610)'' *''L'Orfeo'' *''Carmina Burana'', Vols. 1–4 ( L'Oiseau Lyre, 4 CD, 1994) *''Sinners and Saints'', a compilation of previous recordings *''Bach: Brandenburg Concerti'' (complete) *''The Feast of Fools'' *''Praetorius: Dances from Terpsichore'' *''Vivaldi: Gloria RV 588 and Dixit Dominus RV 595'' *''The Sylvan and Oceanic Delights of Posilipo'' * Tielman Susato, ''Dansereye 1551'' * John Blow: ''Venus & Adonis, A Masque for the entertainment of the King''

With the Musicians of the Globe

*''Music From

's Plays'' *''

Ben Jonson Benjamin "Ben" Jonson (c. 11 June 1572 – c. 16 August 1637) was an English playwright and poet. Jonson's artistry exerted a lasting influence upon English poetry and stage comedy. He popularised the comedy of humours; he is best known for t ...

's 'The Masque Of Oberon *''A Shakespeare Ode On The Witches and Fairies'' *''Purcell's Shakespeare'' *''The Enchanted Island'' *''Nutmegs and Ginger'' *''Sir Henry Rowley Bishop: Songs for Shakespeare productions at Covent Garden''

Solo

*''The Alchemist'' (1988) (London NL 425 209-2) *''The Alchemist'' (1998)

With Richard Thompson

*''

Rumor and Sigh ''Rumor and Sigh'' is the seventh solo album by British singer/songwriter Richard Thompson, released in 1991 on the Capitol label. The album was a commercial success for Thompson, and featured his biggest American hit single "I Feel So Good", as ...

'' (1991) *''The Bones of All Men'' (1998)

References

External links

*
J.S.Bach: The Brandenburg Concertos, a New Interpretation, by Philip Pickett
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pickett, Philip 1950 births Living people 20th-century English criminals 21st-century English criminals Alumni of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama English people convicted of indecent assault British performers of early music British recorder players Criminals from Gloucestershire Criminals from London English conductors (music) British male conductors (music) English people convicted of rape Prisoners and detainees of England and Wales School sexual abuse scandals 21st-century British conductors (music) 21st-century British male musicians The Albion Band members