Edward Gregson (born 23 July 1945) is an English composer of instrumental and choral music, particularly for brass and wind bands and ensembles, as well as music for the theatre, film, and television. He was also principal of the Royal Northern College of Music.
Early life and education He was born in Sunderland, England, in 1945. He studied composition (with Alan Bush) and piano at the Royal Academy of Music from 1963 to 1967, winning five prizes for composition. Although his works have no opus numbers, he referred to his Oboe Sonata as his Opus 1.
Career In 1988, he was nominated for an Ivor Novello award for his title music to BBC Television's Young Musician of the Year programmes, for which he also regularly officiated as a jury member and broadcaster.
He was Principal of the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester from 1996 to 2008. There he faced criticism for the appointment of Malcolm Layfield, previously a violin teacher at the College, to the post of Head of Strings, despite Gregson's knowledge of allegations that Layfield had a history of sexual misconduct against students.
In 2008, he retired from academic life to concentrate on his composition.
He has since completed orchestral commissions for the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, the Bournemouth Symphony, the Hallé and the BBC Philharmonic orchestras. In 2014, the North American Brass Band Association honored both Edward Gregson and his brother Bramwell Gregson (best known for his conducting work with the London Citadel Band and Canada's Brassroots, modelled on the Philip Jones brass tentet). Each section's required test piece was composed by Edward Gregson.
He continues to sit on a number of Boards relating to music education and the music industry. He is a Companion of the Royal Northern College of Music, and a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Music and the Royal College of Music.
In October 2024 Gregson was nominated for an Ivor Novello Award at The Ivors Classical Awards. Viola Concerto "Three Goddesses" was nominated for Best Large Ensemble Composition.
Performances His music has been performed by many orchestras and ensembles worldwide, including in the UK: the London Symphony Orchestra and all the BBC orchestras; in the USA: Detroit, Louisville and Albany (New York); in the Far East: Tokyo Philharmonic and China National Broadcasting Orchestra; and in Europe: orchestras in France, Germany, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and Scandinavia.
A major retrospective of his music was held in Manchester in 2002.
Recordings Chandos have released several complete discs of works by Gregson, including: Trumpet Concerto, Saxophone Concerto, Concerto for piano and wind Blazon, Clarinet Concerto, Violin Concerto, Stepping Out Music for Chamber Orchestra, Trombone Concerto, Two Pictures for String Orchestra, 'A Song for Chris' (Cello Concerto)
Naxos has recorded the complete piano music including the Piano Sonata in one movement, and the two string quartets.Naxos 8.574222 (2021), reviewed at MusicWeb International
Several CDs of his music for brass have been recorded by various groups on the Doyen label: Gregson Volume 1 (DOY CD 017) Desford Colliery Caterpillar Band, circa 1992 Dances and Arias Concerto for French Horn and Brass Band (w. Frank Lloyd, horn) Connotations Of Men and Mountains Gregson 2 Gregson 3 Gregson 4 The Trumpets of the Angels Halle Brass plays Gregson Edward Gregson Wind Music Gregson 5 Symphony
Works 1965 – Oboe Sonata 1966 – In The Beginning 1967 – Quintet for Brass 1968 – Music for Chamber Orchestra 1968 – Divertimento for trombone and piano 1968 – March Prelude 1971 – Horn Concerto 1971 – Horn Concerto (wind ensemble version) 1971/1999 – Partita (for brass band) 1973 – The Plantagenets 1976 – Tuba Concerto (orchestral version) 1976 – Tuba Concerto (brass band version) 1976 – Tuba Concerto (wind orchestral version) 1976 – Variations on Laudate Dominum 1976 – Connotations 1978 – Flourish for Orchestra 1979 – Metamorphoses 1979 – Trombone Concerto 1982 – Six Little Piano Pieces 1983 – Contrasts – a concerto for orchestra 1983 – Equale Dances 1983 – Piano Sonata in one movement 1983 – Trumpet Concerto 1984 – Dances and Arias 1984 – Sonata for Four Trombones 1985 – Festivo 1986 – Occasion 1987 – Missa Brevis Pacem 1988 – Make A Joyful Noise 1992 – Of Men and Mountains 1994 – Clarinet Concerto 1997 – A Welcome Ode 1999 – The Dance, forever the Dance 1971/1999 – Partita (revision for symphonic wind band) 2006 – Saxophone Concerto 2007 – Cello Concerto 2009 – Dream Song 2009 – Goddess 2009 – Tributes 2011 – An Album for my Friends for piano 2012 – Symphony in Two Movements 2014 – String Quartet No 1 2017 – String Quartet No 2Gregson Chamber Music, Naxos 8.574223 (2022) 2020 – Three Etudes for piano
References
External links with list of works, discography and sound samples Edward Gregson's homepage at Novello & Co