Herald AV Publications

HAVPCD369 – Choral Music from Coventry Cathedral

	Disk Title	Choral Music from Coventry Cathedral
		The Boy Choristers, Girl Choristers, and Choral Clerks
	Soloists	Alistair Reid (Organist)
	Choir	Coventry Cathedral Choir
	Conductor	Kerry Beaumont
	Location	Coventry Cathedral
	Audio Tracks	18

Kerry Beaumont
Kerry Beaumont has been director of music at Coventry Cathedral since 2006, having previously been at Ripon Cathedral and St Davids Cathedral. He was educated in the UK, Canada and the USA, studying with Ronald Perrin, Peter Daly, John Weaver, Antoine Reboulot and Pierre Cochereau. Further studies in vocal pedagogy and choral conducting were with Lois Williams in West Chester University, Pennsylvania and at Westminster Choir College in Princeton, New Jersey. His church music career has employed him in Canada, the USA and the UK, and he has maintained a teaching practice as well as composition output. Under his direction, the choirs at Coventry Cathedral have made several television broadcasts and a solo organ CD with Herald label is in production for release in 2012.

Alistair Reid
Alistair Reid began his musical career as a treble at St Mark’s Church, Surbiton, Surrey and began playing the organ at the age of 13. In 1994, he became Organ Scholar of Hertford College, Oxford, where he conducted various choirs and orchestras, including the Oxford Chamber Choir. After graduating from the University of Oxford, he crossed the Atlantic to become Organ Scholar at Christ Church, Greenwich, Connecticut, while continuing his studies with Gerre Hancock at St Thomas Church, Fifth Avenue, New York City.

Alistair was thenappointed Assistant Organist at Christ Church Cathedral, Indianapolis, Indiana, a post he held for five years. He was Assistant Director of Music at Coventry Cathedral and Assistant Conductor of the St Michael’s Singers from 2004 until 2011, when he emigrated to the USA to continue his career as a recitalist and conductor. He is also a Fellow of the Royal College of Organists. He is currently on the music staff of Christ Church, Greenwich, Connecticut.

COVENTRY CATHEDRAL CHOIR
The boy choristers of Coventry Cathedral are drawn from schools around the city and they sing two services in the Cathedral each week. After a period of decline in numbers, the choirs has recently undergone a resurgence of recruitment and sponsorship. Having originally been drawn from one independent school in the city, the boy choristers are now drawn from the city at large, with at least fifteen schools represented. A complete reworking of the choir’s rehearsal schedule was undertaken in 2007-2010 and the choir is now back on course fulfilling its original roles of singing choral services in Coventry and performing as an international ambassador ensemble of reconciliation with, amongst others, centres of the Cross of Nails worldwide.