Web Master,
Mike Aylen
Douglas Coombes, our Conductor
DOUGLAS COOMBES, who was born in Bristol, England, read music at St Paul's College, Cheltenham and Dartington College of Arts, Devon, where he studied, in particular, composing and conducting.
In 1968 he joined the BBC as a music producer, working mainly in BBC Education, writing, producing and frequently broadcasting many programmes such as Time and Tune and Singing Together which regularly enjoyed audiences of around 2 million listeners weekly. In 1988, wanting to spend more time on composing, conducting and to offer more practical help to teachers and pupils, he left the BBC to become a freelance musician. Straightaway he founded The New English Concert Orchestra undertaking many performances annually in concert halls and in schools. He also started MUSICWorld a resource magazine for schools.
Since 1988, including workshops for young people, he averages around 150 performances a year. He travels the length and breadth of Great Britain and Europe, works regularly in the USA and has worked twice in Hong Kong. In April 1999 he was in South Korea conducting his own music with various choirs. In 2002 he was once again in South Korea, directing workshops and working with one of the countries top professional choirs, the Suwon Civic Chorale, who has just commercially recorded his Mass of 1991.
Performing to and with young people is an important part of Douglas Coombes' work, but he gives concerts to all ages - or as he describes it "From nought to death!" He frequently appears in family concerts either conducting and/or narrating such works as Peter and the Wolf and his own compositions in the genre - Ting Tang the Elephant, The Treasure Trail, The Wonderful Adventures of Sinbad.
Douglas is a prolific composer and has written for all ages – professional and non-professional – and his output includes 2 symphonies, a requiem, 5 masses, an Easter Oratorio, 3 operas, 2 ballets, orchestral music, songs, church music and music for children. Many compositions have been supported by grants from the Arts Councils of England and Scotland. A number of his compositions have been set for the Trinity/Guildhall Exams and the Associated Board. In 2006 he composed some recorder duets for the Associated Board’s Medal Awards.
In 2004, he had published A Chance To Sing a book of songs on current social issues which was written to raise money for the charity Barnardo’s. The book was launched in July 2004 at the Royal Albert Hall in a concert conducted by Douglas with a choir of over 1200 children. During the past few years he has conducted a number of concerts for Barnardo’s at such venues as The Royal Albert Hall (London), Birmingham Symphony Hall, Leeds Town Hall, Ely Cathedral and Lambeth Palace (London.) Also for Barnardo’s, on November 5th, 2004, he conducted The New English Concert Orchestra in St. John’s Smith Square, London for the concerto debut of the outstanding 13 year old violinist, Victoria Goldsmith.
His most recent compositions include Concerto for Oboe and Strings (for Bryan Shaw, oboist of The new English Concert orchestra)) Dance Variations for recorder orchestra (for the Peregrine Orchestra), Summer Serenade for Choir and Strings (for Hertford Choral Society) An East Anglian Folk Song Suite for SSA choir, strings and harp, written for his own choir, the Amici Singers, The Singing Emerald Isle a suite of 10 Irish songs for SSA choir and piano (for Loreto College, Coleraine) and a suite of seven songs – An Ensemble of Odd Characters – for the Parlor Boys’ Chorus (New York State), Full Fathom Five, a suite of sea shanties and sea songs for the men of The Virginia Consort and Youth Chorale, Virginia, USA, A Fascicle of Songs for Choir, Children’s Choir and Orchestra – 7 settings of poems by Robert Louis Stevenson for Making Music, Scotland , The Nations Rejoice, a suite of 11 carols for St. Mary’s Singers, Potton and Make we joy at this fest for Lymington Choral Society in Hampshire
Douglas has conducted many of the UK’s leading orchestras including The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, The Scottish Chamber, The BBC Welsh, The London Concert, The Manchester Camerata, The Bournemouth Sinfonietta, The Northern Sinfonia and The New English Concert Orchestra. A recent conducting highlight took place when he directed the chamber orchestra in Benjamin Britten’s War Requiem. He has also conducted a number of Choral and Opera societies and is invited regularly to direct choral workshops by Choirs in the UK and abroad, particularly in the USA.
During the past ten summers, Douglas has conducted the New English Concert Orchestra in the open-air Battle Prom concerts in England, held in the grounds of stately homes such as Hatfield House and Blenheim Palace and has written music for these events. In 2005 he composed A Sea Song Suite for Orchestra to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar. And for the 10th anniversary in 2006 of the Battle Proms he composed Battle Proms Waltz (in the style of Johann Strauss II) based on themes from Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture and Beethoven’s Battle Symphony.
Douglas Coombes is also a busy lecturer and course director. He is Chairman of the Adjudicators Council and a Board member of the British and International Federation of Festivals and adjudicates frequently throughout the UK and overseas. He is the Patron of The Peppercorns Performing Arts, President of The Shannon Express (a barbershop chorus) and in one of the Patrons of The British Kodaly Academy. He is a member of the Musician’s Union, The Performing Right Society, The Mechanical Copyright Protection Society, The Society of Authors and the Association of British Choral Directors.
For the last five years he has been the music director and consultant of the BBC’s TV Songs of Praise Competition to find the Senior and Junior School Choir of the Year and conducted the choirs in all the TV celebratory concerts; he has just recorded the 2007 competition and is now working on the 2008 competition
For recreation, he directs The Amici Singers, a women’s choir which he founded in 1978 who are planning their 9th Easter tour of the USA, 2008, and is the conductor of St Mary’s Singers of Potton. When he has the time he loves watching rugby and cricket, two sports he used to play.