Music of Parry and D. Purcell
James Vivian Conducts Evensong at Christ Church
Thomas Murray, organ
Christ Church Episocpal
Broadway at Elm
Short organ recital by Ann Elise Smoot follows at 6pm.
James Vivian has been part of the music department at the Temple Church since 1997 and was appointed Director of Music & Organist of the Temple Church in 2006.
At the Temple Church, James presides over the famous four-manual Harrison & Harrison organ and directs the professional choir of men and boys of whom the Daily Telegraph recently commented, ’The Temple Church Choir is a formidable force, finely honed and blended’. The Temple Church Choir’s latest CD (The Majesty of the Glory) of music by Purcell, Britten, Elgar and Howells was available in July 2010 on the Signum Classics label. As an organist, he is known equally for his outstanding interpretation of the solo repertoire as for his colourful and inventive accompanying.
James Vivian was educated at King’s College, Cambridge where, for four years, he worked closely with its world-famous choir and gained a Master’s Degree in Music. Before Cambridge, he was Acting-Assistant Organist of Lincoln Cathedral. He was a prize-winner in the Fellowship examination of the Royal College of Organists, and was awarded a scholarship to study the French organ repertoire with Marie-Louise Langlais in Paris.
Mr. Vivian has appeared in many Festivals (including the BBC Proms, Aldeburgh, The Three Choirs Festival, the Lincoln Festival in New York City, and Festivals in Bermuda, Germany and Italy), and has played recitals and concerts throughout the world (including Japan, Brazil, South Africa, USA, and Europe). He has broadcast on many national radio stations as a soloist, and has recorded with labels such as Decca, Priory, Sony BMG, EMI and Hyperion. His second organ CD from the Temple Church is due to be released in December 2010 on the Signum Classics label. James is also an examiner for the The Royal College of Organists.
Mr. Vivian was Artistic Adviser to the hugely successful year-long 2008 Temple Festival; highlights included conducting a new and fully-staged production of Dido & Aeneas in London which was highly praised (‘…an uncommonly satisfying, very beautiful account of Dido and Aeneas.’ Opera). He is co-founder of two professional instrumental ensembles, The Temple Players and Temple Brass, as well as the Temple Singers, with whom he presents concerts at the Temple Church.
The Evensong at Christ Church will be followed by a short organ recital by Ann Elise Smoot, as part of the Great Organ Music at Yale series.