Profile of a Composer: John Rutter

I was introduced to Rutter when I was in college.  I grew to absolutely adore several of his choral arrangements and have both sung them in the choir and conducted them over the years.

John Rutter was born in 1945 London, England.  He studied at Clare College in Cambridge, England.

John Rutter
John Rutter

He currently resides in Cambridgeshire, England.

He founded his own choir the Cambridge Singers in 1981.  This group primarily records on the Collegium Records label.   Oxford University Press is the principle publisher of his music.  {Hinshaw Music in the US}.

He is also the Vice President to the Joyful Company of Singers.

He has conducted choirs and orchestras around the world, as well as having numerous honors bestowed upon him.  In 1985, he was inducted into the international music fraternity, Delta Omicron, as a national patron.

In addition to his work as a composer and conductor, he has also done some arranging and editing.  He is best known for his religious pieces.

Most of his compositions are choral works and include an orchestral score, as well as a piano/organ accompaniment.

His choral works Gloria, Requiem, and Magnificent are established choral repertoire pieces.

In addition to his carols, choral works, TV soundtracks, and instrumental pieces, he wrote the opera Bang!

In 2002, his setting of Psalm 150, was commissioned for Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee.

His composition Mass of the Children was written after the sudden death of his son.

Rutter was awarded a CBE in the 2007 New Year’s Honours List, in recognition of his outstanding services to music.

In 2011, Prince William and Catherine Middleton commissioned him to write a song for their wedding.  That song is “This is the Day.”

David Wilcocks considered Rutter “the most gifted composer of his generation.”

BBC Music Magazine deems him ‘The most successful and well-known composer of choral music in recent British history.’