|
Belfast born Christopher
Bell is Chorus Director of the Grant Park Chorus,
Chicago, USA, Chorusmaster of the Royal Scottish National
Orchestra Junior Chorus and of the Belfast Philharmonic
Choir. He was largely responsible for the formation
of the National Youth Choir of Scotland in 1996 and
has been its Artistic Director since then. He is also
Artistic Director of the highly successful Children’s
Classic Concert series.
Christopher Bell was educated at Edinburgh University
and held his first post as Associate Conductor of
the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra between 1989 and
1991. Since then he has worked with many of the major
orchestras in the UK and Eire, including the Royal
Philharmonic, Royal Scottish National, BBC Scottish
Symphony, Ulster, Scottish Chamber, City of London
Sinfonia, London Concert, RTE National Symphony, RTE
Concert and the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestras.
Christopher Bell enjoys working with young people.
Before his current posts with the RSNO and NYCoS,
for six years he directed the TOTAL Aberdeen Youth
Choir, undertaking touring and recordings with them
as well as many concerts in the North East of Scotland.
He was the first Artistic Director of the Ulster Youth
Choir between 1999 and 2004, a group which he developed
and moulded into a critically acclaimed ensemble.
Concerts in 2004/2005 included performances with
the Ulster Orchestra, the RSNO, the Orchestra of Scottish
Opera and the Norwegian Radio Symphony Orchestra in
Oslo alongside commitments with the RSNO Junior Chorus,
Belfast Philharmonic Choir and Children’s Classic
Concerts. Additional projects include conducting concerts
at the International Tapestry Conference in Glasgow,
East meets West, with the RSNO. Concerts at Grant
Park in 2005 included two programmes of Baltic Music
with the Grant Park Chorus and two performances of
Stravinsky’s Symphony of Psalms as well as the
annual Independence Day concert on 3rd July and numerous
outreach and children’s concerts. In 2006 he
conducted Carmina Burana and Rachmaninov Vespers with
the Grant Park Chorus. With the Philharmonic Choir
and the Ulster Orchestra he has performed the music
of Alan Hovhannes (November 2005) Mozart Requiem in
2006, and in 2007 Elijah.
For his work with singers, and particularly his encouragement
of young singers in Scotland, Christopher Bell was
awarded a Scotsman of the Year 2001 award for Creative
Talent. In 2003, he was awarded the Charles Groves
Prize for his contribution to cultural life in Scotland
and the rest of the UK.
May 2007
|