John Metcalfe (born 6 August 1964) is a British-based

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

arranger In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchestrat ...

and violist, member of the Duke Quartet and a former member of the band The Durutti Column.

Biography

Metcalfe was born in

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

and moved to the United Kingdom as a child. Metcalfe studied viola at the Royal Northern College of Music and later at the Hochschule in Berlin. During this period he joined Vini Reilly in The Durutti Column. Metcalfe's unique style is a result of his extensive experience in classical, pop and electronica. As violist with the Duke Quartet he released many CDs and toured worldwide. Metcalfe's string arrangements played by the Dukes feature on many albums by pop artists including

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and Blur. Metcalfe was instrumental in the formation of the record label Factory Classical, an offshoot of

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. He released an album of his own, ''The Inner Line'', to positive reviews. In 2004, another album, ''Scorching Bay'', was released, followed by ''A Darker Sunset'' in 2008. ''The Appearance of Colour'' was released in April 2013 as part of Bowers and Wilkins Society of Sound subscription series. Commissions include a set of pieces for the guitarist Tom Kerstens and an album of electronic/acoustic music for 'cellist Matthew Barley. His music has also been used by various contemporary dance companies. He also collaborated with

Peter Gabriel Peter Brian Gabriel (born 13 February 1950) is an English singer, songwriter, musician, and human rights activist. He came to prominence as the original frontman of the rock band Genesis. He left the band in 1975 and launched a solo career wit ...

, writing arrangements for his "song-swap" album, '' Scratch My Back'', and for the tour following it. For '' New Blood'' (2011), which he co-produced with Gabriel, he arranged and orchestrated versions of Gabriel's songs. He and Gabriel continued collaborating on Gabriel's album '' i/o'', released on 1 December 2023. In 2015, Metcalfe released a solo album titled ''Kites and Echos'' on Bowers & Wilkins Society of Sound and ''The Appearance of Colour'' on Real World Records.

Discography

Solo albums

* ''The Inner Line'' (2004) * ''Scorching Bay'' (2004) * ''A Darker Sunset'' (2008) * ''The Appearance of Colour'' (2013) * ''Kites and Echoes'' / ''The Appearance of Colour'' (2015) * ''Absence'' (2018) * ''Tree'' (2023)

References

External links

Official website
Musicians from Wellington City Living people 20th-century New Zealand classical composers 21st-century New Zealand classical composers English classical composers New Zealand male classical composers English male classical composers English classical violists New Zealand classical violists New Zealand expatriates in England 1964 births The Durutti Column members 20th-century English composers 21st-century English composers 20th-century British male musicians 21st-century British male musicians British rock violists 20th-century violists 21st-century violists {{violist-stub