Background
Derek Bourgeois was born in Kingston upon Thames in 1941.
composer conductor music educator musicologist
Derek Bourgeois was born in Kingston upon Thames in 1941.
University of Cambridge. Royal College of Music.
After receiving his education from Magdalene College, Cambridge University (honours degree and doctorate), Bourgeois spent two years at the Royal College of Music studying composition with Herbert Howells and conducting with Sir Adrian Boult. From 1971 to 1984, Bourgeois was a lecturer in music at Bristol University, and director of the National Youth Orchestra from 1984 to 1993. In 1980 he began conducting at the Sun Life Band where he was introduced to brass bands.
In 1994 Bourgeois was appointed Director of Music at Street Paul"s Girls School, London.
He has also conducted for various orchestras. His symphonies include Jabbervocky-Extravaganza (1963) and the symphonic fantasy The Astronauts (1969).
Foreign his Symphony of Winds, the First International Conference for Conductors, Publishers and Composers awarded him with their main commission in 1981. He has also chaired Composer"s Guild of Great Britain and served as the artistic director of Bristol Philharmonic Orchestra.
He founded the National Youth Chamber Orchestra of Great Britain in 1988.
Bourgeois is well known for his compositions for brass band and wind band including two Concerti for Brass Band, the Concerto Grosso, Blitz, Diversions, Serenade, The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea and Apocalypse. He had also played tuba. Reviewing Bourgeois" Sonata for Trombone, David Vinning of Trombone.org wrote "Bourgeois is a skilled composer who knows how to write for the trombone and this piece is a major new work sure to become popular." Bourgeois is recognised as a reputable figure and a well-established music composer.
His first band work was a concerto, adapted from a flute concerto.
One of his symphonies is 155 minutes lougitude In 2002 Bourgeois wrote a 77-minute symphony with the intention of honouring the town of Arta.
Bourgeois" first symphony which he had composed at the age of 18 was reviewed by Stanley Sadie for The Guardian. He has also composed music for the television movie The Crucible, the short documentaries Thirty Million Letters and The Driving Force and the television series The Barchester Chronicles and Buddyboy.
In 2015 he was recognised as one of Britain"s most prolific composers, with 102 symphonies to his name.
In an interview with Alan Rusbridger of The Guardian, he said that the symphonies came "tumbling out.".
He has also been the member of the Music Advisory Panel of the Arts Council.