Benjamin Woodward - Conductor

Educated within the Anglican Choral tradition, playing and conducting much of major Anglican choral repertory. Moved to US in August 2002 to take up position at Christ Church, Greenwich CT, and established sound reputation as an accompanist, conductor and teacher, of organ, piano, voice and music theory. Took up post as Organist and Director of Music at St Mary's Church in Stamford in October 2004. There was only one solo singer to start, and this has been expanded to an eight person professional choir. Other projects at St Mary's include the expansion and replacement of much of the choral library, and a new organ.

Other musical pursuits include coaching of singers, editing and chamber music. Have recently finished editing J.C. Bach's opera seria Lucio Silla and song cycle Vauxhall Songs, formerly only available in facsimile only. This was with a view to conducting productions with the New York Lyric Theatre. Also continuo player for New England Baroque Soloists.

AUDIO SAMPLES

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PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

St Mary's R.C. Church, Stamford	October 2004 - present
Organist and Director of Music
Rehearsing, conducting and playing for the professional choir. Eight operatic singers, several of whom are taken from New York music conservatories.
CD is being recorded May 18 and 19, due to be released by MSR Classics. Repertoire to include Poulenc Mass in G and Brahms Fest und Gedenksprüche motets.
New organ design has been prepared, from builders Rudolf von Beckerath in Hamburg, Germany. Fundraising is one third complete.
Christ Church Greenwich	2002-04
Organ Scholar
Rehearsed and conducted six separate choirs - with over 100 singers in total, including girls and boys of all ages, volunteers from the parish, and professionals - for services and concerts at the church every week.
Played the organ at the weekly church services.
Sang bass (and occasional unwilling counter-tenor) with the men's and boys' choir, the professional choir and the parish choir.
Occasional "Ringer ringer" with the Handbell Choir.

CONDUCTING/ACCOMPANYING EXPERIENCE

Organist and Assistant Conductor for Hunter College (CUNY) concerts, May 2006 New England Baroque Soloists Continuo player at concerts at Trinity Cathedral, Hartford, CT and St Malachy's Church, NYC, 2006 Musical Director for Lyric Theatre Production of Homeric Hymns, a collage concert of operatic excerpts based on Homer, Dahesh Museum, January 2006. Organist and Assistant Conductor for Christ Church Parish Choir tour to Wells Cathedral, UK, July 19th-26th, 2004. Organist for Girls Four Choir Festival May 2004. Repertory includes Berstein's Chichester Psalms and Vaughan-Williams' Five Mystical Songs. Malcolm Archer (Wells Cathedral, UK) conducted girls choirs of Christ Church, Greenwich, Bryn Mawr, PA, Morristown, NJ and Atlanta Cathedral, GA. Two professional performances of Bach's St John Passion with "The Ben Woodward Chorus and Orchestra" to standing ovations in Greenwich and NYC. Found sponsorship, advertising, 40 players and singers, and directed from the harpsichord. Accompanist for Rye Country Day Choral society November 2003-February 2004 for John Rutter's Requiem and Mozart's Regina Coeli Rehearsal Pianist for Danbury Concert Chorus, September 2003-November 2003 Director of Children's Chorus, Greenwich Pops Concert, June 2003 Also repetiteured for Greenwich Choral Society for same Pops concert. Accompanied and Assistant Directed Westfair Chamber Singers in Concert, June 2003 Accompanied Marsh Singers (a corporate chorus) in their recent Spring Concert. Have also deputized for their director on occasion. Played half of the piano duet for Brahms's Liebeslieder Walzer in large chamber concert in Christ Church, June 2003. Accompanied mass and evensong at St. Mary the Virgin, Times Square, March and April 2003 Accompanied Pamela Kuhn's Opera studio on a regular basis (approx 6 hours/week), 2003 Repetiteured and played continuo in the concert for Haydn's Creation, in Rye, NY, December 2002 Played organ for the New Haven Chorale for their Christmas gospel concert, December 2002 Played the full organ part for a complete Duruflé Requiem at Christ Church, November 2002 Directed the choir and played the organ part for Holst's Planets Suite, Cambridge, October 2002 Directed full (semi professional) performance of Bach's B Minor Mass, Cambridge, November 2001 Also directed Vaughan Williams' The Lark Ascending, Beethoven Egmont Overture, Vivaldi Nisi Dominus, and Bach's 3rd and 4th Brandenburg Concertos whilst in Cambridge Was Musical Director and arranger for May Week Operetta Production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Housecoat - an adaptation for Trinity, June 2002 During Lent term, 2001, acted as Director of Music for Trinity College Choir, whilst both Dr Marlow and the Dean of Chapel were on sabbatical. This involved directing the choir for their four services per week and all rehearsals, preparing the music list and rehearsal schedule, as well as general administrative tasks as they arose.

SOLO EXPERIENCE

Recitals planned for 2006: Atlanta Cathedral Highly Acclaimed "Farewell Concert" at Christ Church, Greenwich, July 2004. Included Bach and Duruflé organ solos, Duruflé's Messe "cum jubilo" as accompanist and also Wagner's Wesendonck Lieder and Britten's Abraham and Isaac as pianist. Recent recitals at St. Mary the Virgin, NYC, St Philip's Cathedral, Atlanta, GA and Christ Church, October 2003 Other recitals at Christ Church, September 2002 and April 2003 Recitals in Cambridge at Trinity College, Trinity Hall and St John's College SOLOIST in Poulenc's Organ Concerto, Cambridge, October 2001 Church recitals in UK include Manchester Cathedral, St Paul's Church, Newcastle (Staffs), St. Chad's Church, Stafford

LIVE BROADCASTS (as organist)

January 2002, Epiphany Carol Service from Trinity, BBC Radio 3 January 2001, Choral Evensong from Trinity, BBC Radio 3

RECORDINGS

St Mary's Choir - in production, May 2006 A Trinity Christmas, 2001 for Global Music Network (gmn.com) Producer for Trinity's recording of Peter Philips' Cantiones Sacrae, 2002 (still in post-production) St John Passion recording from April 2004 performances.

EDUCATION

1999-2002: Trinity College, Cambridge. BA (Hons) in Music, 2nd class 1997-1999: Chetham's School of Music, Manchester: 1st study organ, 2nd study piano, 3rd study viola. (Also competent guitarist) ŒA' levels in Music, Mathematics and French 1992-1997: Blessed William Howard Roman Catholic High School, Stafford. 9 GCSEs

TEACHERS

Organ: Dr Gerre Hancock (New York), David Sanger and John Wellingham (Cambridge), Daniel Moult (Manchester). Piano: Simon Bottomley (Manchester) Voice: Pamela Kuhn (CT), Ashley Stafford (Cambridge)

DIPLOMAS/AWARDS/COURSES

Associate of the Royal College of Organists (ARCO), 2000, Organ Scholarship to Trinity College, Cambridge, 1999-2002 Organ Scholarship to Manchester Cathedral, 1999 Performed in Master-class at Manchester Bridgewater Hall for Simon Preston, May 1999 Attended Oundle Organ Summer School, Summer 1998

OTHER

Set up many of the concerts and church venues in preparation for Christ Church Girls' Choir tour of Scotland and North-east England, Summer 2003 Responsible for pointing, arranging chants and making the psalms to be sung at Christ Church Spent a year part-time singing with Sidney Sussex College Choir (Cambridge), 2001-2 Competent and known arranger and computer engraving skills. - Firm grasp of computer packages Sibelius and Finale. Recent arrangements include: various hymns for handbells, Ives' The Unanswered Question for trumpet and organ duet, The Beatles' When I'm Sixty-four for both 8 voice chorus and also for ladies voices and piano, and also engraving Bruce Neswick's new piece for a Three Choirs Festival, O Frondens Virga, for girls chorus and organ. Recently finished editing and engraving seven previously unpublished concerti for two trumpets, strings and continuo by Johann Valentin Rathgeber (1682-c.1750). Also engravings and arrangements completed by Handel, Röllig, Albinoni, Zelenka and Knechtel

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