David Owen Norris


David Owen Norris, is a British pianist, composer, academic, and broadcaster.
WWW davidowennorris.com

Early life

Norris was born in Long Buckby in Northamptonshire, England, later attending Daventry Grammar School. He took lessons locally from composer Trevor Hold
before going on to study music at Keble College, Oxford where he was organ scholar; he is now an Honorary Fellow of the college.

Career

After leaving Oxford, he studied composition and worked at the Royal Opera House as a repetiteur. As a pianist, he has accompanied soloists such as Dame Janet Baker, Larry Adler and John Tomlinson, and his solo career has included appearances at the Proms and performances with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Detroit Symphony Orchestra.
He has also presented the Playlist Series for BBC Radio 4, and appeared in a number of television documentaries.

Academia

He is a professor at the University of Southampton where he is head of keyboard, and a visiting tutor at the Royal Northern College of Music. He has also been Gresham Professor of Music and a professor at both the Royal College of Music and the Royal Academy of Music.

Composition

Norris has enjoyed success as a composer in a wide range of musical styles. His Piano Concerto and Symphony were first performed at Dorchester Abbey by the English Music Festival, as was his oratorio Prayerbook, which has been frequently performed and studied subsequent to its premiere.
His song cycles Think Only This and Tomorrow Nor Yesterday have been released on a disc entitled Fame's Great Trumpet. His operas and operettas, including Die! Sober Flirter and The Jolly Roger, have been performed on BBC Radio and around the UK and Europe, as have several pastiches of Mozart.

Honours

In 1991, Norris received the Gilmore Artist Award.

Recordings

Piano concertos

Solo piano

Vocal

Chamber music

Radio programmes

  • ''A History of Private Life''