CHRISTOPHER FLETCHER Conductor
Christopher Fletcher considers himself to be both fortunate and privileged to have been Plymouth Philharmonic Choir’s conductor since 1996, during which time the choir has come to be recognised as one of the best in the South West. As well as the choir’s regular concerts with professional orchestras and soloists in Plymouth he has conducted the choir in cathedrals and churches all over Europe, including Notre Dame in Paris.
Christopher was born in Leeds. At an early age he began to show considerable musical talent. At the age of ten he won the Northern Choirboy’s Championship in Harrogate singing Hear ye Israel from Mendelssohn’s Elijah and two years after this he became the first boy treble in the Bradford Diocese to be awarded the R.S.C.M. St. Nicolas Award.
In 1978 Christopher was awarded a scholarship to study at Trinity College of Music, London. After graduating Christopher moved to South Devon, since when he has been actively involved in choral singing, church music and teaching. He has been organist and Master of Music at Plymouth R. C. Cathedral since 2001, previously holding a similar post at the Parish and Priory Church of St. Mary, Totnes.
In addition to Plymouth Philharmonic Choir, Christopher is also currently conductor of the Stanborough Chorus, Kingsbridge, and is a former conductor of The Lupridge Singers, The Chagford Singers and the South Devon Choir.
As well as being in demand as a workshop teacher, Christopher helped to found the annual Rotary Club Come and Sing in1999.This is now an annual event which, under his direction, regularly attracts two hundred singers from all over Devon and beyond.
In 2008 he was awarded a Paul Harris Fellowship by Rotary International.
Timothy Noon received his early music education as a chorister at Hereford Cathedral, England, later learning the organ with Dr Roy Massey. At the age of seventeen he was appointed Organ Scholar of Canterbury Cathedral, and the following year became Organ Scholar at Christ Church, Oxford where he also read for a degree in music. In 1993 he became a Fellow of the Royal College of Organists, winning six prizes in the examination, including the coveted Limpus prize. On graduating with First Class Honours, Timothy was appointed sub-organist of St Patrick’s Cathedral, Dublin. He returned to Canterbury Cathedral as Assistant Organist in January 1997, subsequently becoming Organist and Master of the Choristers of St Davids Cathedral (Wales), then Director of Music at the Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King in Liverpool.
He has appeared many times on television and radio and has made numerous commercial recordings to date as soloist, accompanist and conductor. His CDs with the Metropolitan Cathedral Choir, of music in honour of the Blessed Virgin Mary, were released in 2010, to wide acclaim. As an organist, he is a frequent solo performer, giving concerts in many prestigious venues across Europe and New Zealand.
Whilst directing the 2011 Summer School of the RSCM in New Zealand, he fell in love with the country and, seizing the opportunity of coming to live here, accepted the position of Director of Music at Auckland Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, from September 2011. He has immersed himself in the country’s musical scene, working not only on a daily basis with the cathedral’s three choirs, but by serving as a council member of ANZCO, on the governing body of the NZCF, and participating as organist in projects with Auckland’s main orchestras. He is also the most recent addition to the V8 Vocal Ensemble.
ORB & SCEPTRE:
A concert to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee – including music performed at the 1953 Coronation.
National Anthem – Jacobs
Old 100th – Williams
O taste and see –Williams
Te Deum – Williams
Jerusalem – Parry
I was glad – Parry
The heavens are telling – Haydn
Zadok the priest – Handel
See the conquering hero – Handel
Sing unto God -Handel
There will also be organ pieces including the March from Judas Maccabaeus