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MARTIN BUSSEY was born in London in 1958 and educated at Haberdasher's Aske's School, Elstree before reading music at King's College, Cambridge, where he
was a choral scholar. He studied singing with John Carol Case and composition with Robin Holloway, before moving to the Royal Northern College of Music for postgraduate study. Since 1988 he has taught at Chetham's School of Music
in Manchester, where he currently holds the post of Head of Academic Music and Director of Choirs. He directs Chetham's Chamber Choir and the Chester Bach Singers as well as singing regularly with the Choir of Manchester
Cathedral and as a soloist across the UK. He is a registered Inspector with the Independent Schools Inspectorate, in which role he has inspected the music of most of the country's leading independent schools. He has a great
interest in the connection between words and music, giving regular recital and lecture programmes focussing on settings of individual poets (Housman, Hardy and Gurney) and the output of English song composers in general. Martin Bussey is an experienced and versatile composer with a varied catalogue of works. His interests include song, choral music for a variety of
forces, and organ music, as well as instrumental works. His larger scale choral works have been well received, beginning with The Pied Piper (1985) and A Brand plucked from the Burning
(1989), his cantata celebrating the life and work of John Wesley. In 2002 the first performances of Severn Meadows
were given, a work tracing the life of the poet/composer Ivor Gurney through his own writings. There have been many performances of his song cycles setting individual poets: A Chainless Soul (Emily Bronte),
Poems of 1912/13 (Thomas Hardy) and Blue remembered hills (A E Housman). His choral music includes challenging a cappella works, such as Ave Maria and Christ is the morning star
, as well as simpler, accompanied music, for example, Listen sweet dove (Whitsunday). Many audiences have enjoyed his choral arrangements of classics such as I've got you under my skin, The Carnival is over and
Sentimental journey.email: mb@mbuss.demon.co.uk web site:www.martinbussey.co.ukMartin Bussey
25 Windermere Drive Ramsbottom BL0 9YB
telephone: +44 (0)1706 824813 |
