Conductor
Conductor, Adrian Lucas
Adrian Lucas
Adrian Lucas has been Musical Director of the City of Birmingham Choir since 2002, continuing a long and distinguished line which includes David Willcocks, Meredith Davies and Christopher Robinson. Like them, his musical roots lie in cathedral music and he held posts at St John’s College Cambridge and Portsmouth, Norwich and Salisbury cathedrals before moving to Worcester Cathedral in 1996. During his tenure there, he was responsible for the design and installation of the Kenneth Tickell quire instrument in 2008 as well as continuing a vibrant programme of touring, broadcasting and recording with the Cathedral Choir.
In 1996 he was also appointed Artistic Director to the Worcester Three Choirs Festival. From then until 2011 he was directly responsible for 5 Worcester festivals, introducing a wide variety of new musical threads to the great tradition of this long-lived institution. These included a number of commissioned works from Francis Pott, Andrew Gant, Jackson Hill and Cheryl Frances-Hoad; a number of cross-over concerts including performances of music from the Sacred Concerts of Duke Ellington and late night events by the David Rees-Williams Trio, Respectable Groove and Acoustic Triangle; and plenty of opportunities to hear the choristers and layclerks of the three Cathedral Choirs in action.
Conductor, Adrian Lucas
Since leaving the cathedral world, he has been able to refocus his work on performance, working as a conductor, choral director and animateur, organist and continuo specialist, of which his work with the City of Birmingham Choir forms an important part. As a conductor, Adrian has an impressive list of works to his name, including many performances of the choral works of Elgar, Vaughan Williams and Finzi; contemporary works by James Macmillan, John Tavener and Jonathan Dove; jazz-inspired music by Gershwin, Bernstein and Ibert; concertos with John Lill, Julian Lloyd-Webber and Emma Johnson; not to mention great symphonic works from the classical genii of Mozart and Beethoven through to Janacek and Walton. This year he will be directing a number of projects in connection with the Cultural Olympiad of the 2012 Games, as well as new works by Chris Long and rarely heard performance of the Requiem by Robert Schumann.
As an organist, Adrian continues to give recitals both nationally and internationally. He has played in churches and concert halls from Sydney to Seattle and particularly enjoys broadening the instrument’s repertoire into the realms of jazz.
Adrian is also active as a composer, arranger and orchestrator. He has a portfolio of pieces to his name which includes choral works from short à capella carols and motets through to Creation Canticles, a 41 minute work for solo soprano, chorus and orchestra. Alongside this are many arrangements for brass ensemble, mainly commissioned for special occasions, and a number of transcriptions of orchestral works. Orchestration includes scoring works for Nick Bicat, who has written over 150 scores and soundtracks for film, television and theatre.
External links for Adrian Lucas:
Acclaim Productions: www.acclaimproductions.co.uk
Adrian Lucas: www.adrianlucas.org