Ken Burton

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Ken Burton (born 1970) is a British choral and orchestral conductor, composer,[1] performer, presenter, arranger and judge.

Biography

Burton first gained national attention[citation needed] when two of his choirs, The London Adventist Chorale and the Croydon Seventh-day Adventist Gospel Choir, winning the Sainsbury's Choir of the Year competition in 1994,[2] broadcast nationally in the UK on the BBC. His choral activities also involves directorship of BBC Songs of Praise session choir, Adventist Vocal Ensemble (AVE).[3] Burton also formed, and performs with, the group Tessera, also a regular on BBC Songs of Praise.

As a conductor, singer, and instrumentalist, he has performed on many of the world's major stages including Wembley Stadium, Toronto Sky Dome, Universal Studios (Florida), Sydney Opera House and the Royal Albert Hall.[4][5] His orchestral music has been played by several of the UK's leading orchestras, among them BBC Orchestra and CBSO.

He has worked as a musical director, arranger, and collaborator with opera singers Bryn Terfel and Lesley Garrett, gospel singers Donnie McClurkin, Andraé Crouch and Helen Baylor, and has worked as a session musician for the UK's largest television show, "The X Factor", and the "US X Factor".[6] He has contracted choirs, recorded soundtrack choral parts (some of them his own arrangements) for leading artists including Beyoncé, Christina Aguilera, will.i.am, Robbie Williams, and Leona Lewis[7]

In 2010, he was asked to assist in shaping an arrangement for a song of Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber. This song was to be a gospel flavoured arrangement of Webber's "Love Never Dies", to be recorded by Nicole Scherzinger. The song was subsequently recorded, produced by Nigel Wright, with choral arrangements by Annie Skates. Burton provided the choir.

In 2007, he was commissioned to write a piece of music for double chorus, for a BBC Radio commemorative broadcast to commemorate the bicentenary of the abolition of the slave trade.[8] This piece was performed by the London Adventist Chorale and the choir of St John's College, Cambridge. A number of other collaborative pieces were written and subsequently recorded by the two choirs, although to date the recording has not been released.

Burton has produced a number of recordings with the Croydon Seventh-Day Adventist Gospel Choir, the first being a selection of songs titled "Until We Reach".

Burton has been presented to Queen Elizabeth II on five occasions: two Commonwealth days, Golden Jubilee 2002 where he directed the London Adventist Chorale singing two of his arrangements of African American Spirituals at Buckingham Palace, the re-opening of the Royal Festival Hall Royal Gala Concert, and at a special jubilee multi-faith environment programme. All three of the choral entities he looks after (The Croydon SDA Gospel Choir, London Adventist Chorale and Adventist Vocal Ensemble) have performed, either uniquely or in collaboration, for numerous concerts attended Her Majesty The Queen and other members of the Royal family.[9]

In February 2013, Ken Burton was a guest presenter for the BBC Radio 3 programme "The Choir". He presented a programme on choral gospel music which mixed with other genres. [10]

In May 2013, he contracted a choir under the name Ken Burton Voices to perform at the Cannes Film Festival for Stephen Spielberg, the head of the festival's 2013 jury. The choir performed Miss Celie's Blues from the film The Color Purple; the piece was arranged and conducted by Jazz trumpeter Guy Barker; the lead vocalist was Jazz singer Krystle Warren; Grant Windsor was the accompanist.

Burton is a judge on the new eight-part series of BBC2's "Sing While You Work" in November 2013, with fellow judges Paul Mealor, and international soprano Sarah Fox.

Publications

In addition to his choral and vocal work, he has published several books with Oxford University Press (Christmas Spirituals for Choirs) and Faber Music.(Feel the Spirit, 1991; Good News, 2003; Ready to Ride, 2003).

References

  1. ↑ "Ken Burton - Composers". Faber Music. Retrieved 2013-12-18. 
  2. ↑ "Choir of the Year 2014". Choiroftheyear.co.uk. Retrieved 2013-12-18. 
  3. ↑ Rory Connolly. "Music Blog: Music TV - December 23 - January 5". BBC. Retrieved 2013-12-18. 
  4. ↑ "Viewpoint from Ken Burton". Network Yarmouth. Retrieved 2013-12-18. 
  5. ↑ "The London Adventist Chorale : Choir : Ellison & Strømsholm International Artists' Management". Ellison-stromsholm.com. Retrieved 2013-12-18. 
  6. ↑ "Leeds International Concert Season : What's On". Leedsconcertseason.com. 2012-08-25. Retrieved 2013-12-18. 
  7. ↑ "Ken Burton". London Youth Choir. Retrieved 2013-12-18. 
  8. ↑ "Adventist Vocal Ensembe AVE". Kenburton.wix.com. Retrieved 2013-12-18. 
  9. ↑ "United Kingdom: Adventist Vocal Ensemble Marks Abolition of Slave Trade News: Adventist News Network". News.adventist.org. 2007-03-26. Retrieved 2013-12-18. 
  10. ↑ "The Choir: Ken Burton Exploring Gospel Music". BBC. Retrieved 2013-12-18. 

External links

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