David Owen Norris

Life

Norris was born in 1953 in Northampton, England. He studied music at Keble College, Oxford where he was organ scholar; he is now an Honorary Fellow of the college. After leaving Oxford, he studied composition, and worked at the Royal Opera House as a repetiteur. As a pianist, he has accompanied soloists such as Dame Janet Baker, Larry Adler and John Tomlinson, and his solo career has included appearances at the Proms and performances with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Detroit Symphony Orchestra. He has also presented several radio series – his Playlist Series for BBC Radio 4 has recently finished its second series – presented for television, and appeared in a number of television documentaries. He is a professor at the Royal College of Music and at the University of Southampton, where he is Head of Keyboard. He has also been Gresham Professor of Music and a professor at the Royal Academy of Music (having earlier been a student there).

Composition

Norris has enjoyed success as a composer in a wide range of musical styles. His Piano Concerto and Symphony were first performed at Dorchester Abbey by the English Music Festival, as was his oratorio Prayerbook, which has been frequently performed and studied subsequent to its premiere. His song cycles Think Only This (settings of war poetry) and Tomorrow Nor Yesterday (settings of the poetry of John Donne) have been released on a disc entitled Fame's Great Trumpet. His operas and operettas, including Die! Sober Flirter and The Jolly Roger, have been performed on BBC Radio and around the UK and Europe, as have several pastiches of Mozart.

Honours

On 12 November 2015, Norris was elected a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London (FSA).

Recordings

(* = Premiere recordings)

Piano concertos

Solo piano

Vocal

Chamber music

Radio programmes