Simon Carrington

2013 guest conductor

Simon Carrington has enjoyed a long and distinguished career in music, performing as singer, double bass player and conductor, first in the United Kingdom where he was born, and subsequently in the United States. From 2003 to 2009, he was professor of choral conducting at Yale University and director of the Yale Schola Cantorum, a 24-voice chamber choir he brought to international prominence. During his Yale tenure, Carrington led the introduction of a new graduate voice degree for singers specializing in oratorio, early music and chamber ensemble, and with his faculty colleagues, he guided two Yale graduate students to first prize wins in consecutive conducting competitions at American Choral Directors Association National Conventions. From 2001 until his Yale appointment, he was director of choral activities at the New England Conservatory, Boston, where he was selected by the students for the Krasner Teaching Excellence Award, and from 1994 to 2001 he held a similar position at the University of Kansas.

Prior to coming to the United States, he was a creative force for 25 years with the internationally acclaimed British vocal ensemble The King's Singers, which he co-founded at Cambridge University. He gave 3,000 performances at many of the world's most prestigious festivals and concert halls, made more than 70 recordings, and appeared on countless television and radio programs, including nine appearances on the "Tonight Show" with the late Johnny Carson.

Carrington maintains an active schedule as a freelance conductor and choral clinician, leading workshops and master classes around the world, including two recorded on commercial DVD—at Westminster Choir College in the U.S. (GIA) and the Three Choirs Festival in the U.K. (Masterclass Media Foundation). He is a regular guest conductor at the Monteverdi Choir Festival in Budapest and the Tokyo Cantat in Japan and leads annual conducting courses at the Chamber Choir Festival in Sarteano, Italy, and the Yale Summer Festival in Norfolk, Conn. This season he has conducting engagements in England, France, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Japan, South America and New Zealand as well as his customary round of performances in the United States, and he gathers together his own ensemble, the Simon Carrington Chamber Singers, for concerts and recordings.

It is our pleasure to welcome Carrington to Western Michigan University as guest conductor of the 75th anniversary Southwestern Michigan Vocal Festival to be held in Miller Auditorium on March 13, 2013.