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The English choral conductor, David Temple, began his life as a musician when, at the age of 18, he came to London in 1972 and joined the London Philharmonic Choir. He taught himself to read music and was, within weeks, singing as a tenor under the chorus master John Alldis, performing with conductors including Adrian Boult, Leopold Stokowski, Georg Solti, Bernard Haitink, Klaus Tennstedt, Daniel Barenboim, Carlo Maria Giulini and Simon Rattle.
David Temple's passion for classical music drew him towards conducting, and after having made a number of commercial recordings he became in 1984 the founding conductor of the Crouch End Festival Chorus (CEFC), which he founded with fellow tenor John Gregson. Since then his eclectic tastes have shaped the enormously varied work of the choir, making Crouch End Festival Chorus unique in the choral world. Under the exclusive direction of David Temple, Crouch End Festival Chorus is now one of the world’s leading symphonic choirs.
David Temple has conducted at the Barbican Centre, Royal Festival Hall and Symphony Hall, Birmingham, Royal Albert Hall, Sage Gateshead, The Roundhouse, Snape Maltings and St Albans Cathedral.
As chorus master of the Norfolk and Norwich Festival, David Temple worked closely with Ray Davies of The Kinks on his choral work The Flatlands, and collaborated with him on live performances from 2007 until 2011, including a performance of The Village Green Preservation Society at the Royal Festival Hall with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Crouch End Festival Chorus and Ray Davies plus band. The also collaborated for performances in the BBC’s 2007 Electric Proms series at the Roundhouse, and in 2010 on the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury. In June 2011, David Temple directed the choir and the London Philharmonic Orchestra in the final concert of the Ray Davies Meltdown Festival at the Royal Festival Hall. He has also toured the USA with Ray Davies to promote the CD "The Kinks Choral Collection".
At the 2008 Electric Proms, David Temple and singers from Crouch End Festival Chorus worked with Oasis, and David has also worked with Goldfrapp, Travis and more recently with the Bombay Bicycle Club and Basement Jaxx. He directed CEFC on Noel Gallagher’s first solo album, "Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds", as well as conducting the choir on Gallagher's UK arena tour. He has also collaborated closely with Procol Harum, Take That, and Robbie Williams. He has appeared at the Glastonbury, Latitude and T-in-the-Park music festivals.
David Temple has also been director of the Hertfordshire Chorus since 2000. In May 2011 he conducted the Johannes Brahms' Requiem and the world premiere of Will Todd’s Ode to a Nightingale at the Barbican. Other concert highlights with this chorus include a critically acclaimed performance of Edward Elgar's The Kingdom in St Albans Cathedral. His commissions with Hertfordshire Chorus include Will Todd’s Mass in Blue, which has received well over 100 performances all over the world. He makes frequent visits to the Sage, Gateshead and returned there in July 2014 to perform Tallis' Spem in Alium and McCarthy's 17 Days.
David Temple's highlights with Crouch End Festival Chorus include Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 8 to a sell-out Royal Festival Hall and John Adams’ Harmonium at the Barbican in the presence of the composer. He has worked with many conductors including Valery Gergiev, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Semyon Bychkov and Edward Gardner, preparing choirs for major performances. His work as chorus master includes Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 8 at the 2010 First Night of the Proms and also, later in that season, L.v. Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 with the BBC Symphony Chorus and the Minnesota Orchestra. More recent work includes Benjamin Britten's War Requiem with Semyon Bychkov and Sergei Rachmaninov's The Bells with Edward Gardner.
Recording work includes music for the BBC’s Doctor Who at Air Studios and soundtracks for several films including 1408, with music by Gabriel Yared, as well as Journey to the Center of the Earth, Prince Caspian and The Awakening. He has also prepared the choir for concerts with Ennio Morricone, Andrea Bocelli and Hans Zimmer. With Crouch End Festival Chorus he recorded J.S. Bach's St John Passion BWV 245 (in English) for Chandos Records in 2016, released in 2017. He is renowned for his commissioning of new works, many of which have become successful additions to the choral repertoire, in particular 17 Days by James McCarthy. |
