11 minute read
Where are our alumnae now?
Tony Britten
Composer, conductor, filmmaker and writer
Music has been in Tony’s bones since he was a young boy: encouraged to learn the piano by an aunt at the age of eight; he started composing very early in life. Tony, a graduate of the Royal College of Music, left Trinity in 1973 and embarked upon a successful career as a film, television & theatre composer and conductor.
When asked about his time at Trinity, Tony said “It was wonderful to be one of the founder members of the Trinity Boys’ Choir. I was a good boy treble and it was thrilling to have the opportunity to sing at amazing venues such as the Royal Opera House, where I played Yniold in Pierre Boulez’s acclaimed Pelleas et Melisande. In fact, you could say that my career has been on a downward spiral ever since! I loved music and acting, but I was not the best at settling into academic work.” These days, Tony takes great pleasure in undertaking massive research projects for his films, making use of the British library and travelling around the country as he explores his subject matter. “If, when I was a schoolboy, you had told me I would be doing such deep, serious research, I would have laughed in your face!” Among his many credits, Tony’s work includes orchestrating and conducting the legendary National Theatre production of Guys and Dolls, conducting the film Robocop and composing the scores for many television dramas and films. He wrote the contemporary English libretti and chamber music orchestrations for ten ‘mainstream’ operas for his company Music Theatre London (MTL), including Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro which was turned into a highly-praised three-part series for BBC2. In 1999, having taken over directorial duties at MTL, Tony turned his attention to film making, his first production being Bohème - a radical, funny and touching version of Puccini’s opera, recorded in English and set in a disused flour mill. Tony went on to make many more films, including a drama documentary about his namesake: Benjamin Britten – Peace and Conflict. The film charts composer Benjamin Britten’s life and works and highlights the pacificism nurtured in him as a pupil at Gresham’s School in Norfolk, which became a prevailing influence on the composer. Tony is very proud of the film: “Britten’s centenary was approaching and I conducted a significant amount of research into the project, including several stints at the Red House in Aldeburgh and work with the Head of History at Gresham’s.” Tony researched verbatim conversations from back copies of school magazines and unpublished entries from Britten’s diaries. The young actor who played Britten as a boy, Alex Lawther, went on to become a notable film star (he played the young Alan Turing in The Imitation Game). Tony is delighted he gave Alex his first film role. Incredibly, Benjamin Britten – Peace and Conflict sold all around the world apart from the UK. Fortunately for us, the film is available on The Arts Channel and on DVD.
Tony Britten at his workstation Tony launched The Arts Channel in June 2020, having identified a gap in the market. He hopes the new channel will become the “curator for the curious” as he seeks to acquire and co-produce films and series about music and the arts from around the world. The Arts Channel aims to deliver work across all arts genres that would otherwise not be aired in the UK. When asked why certain films do not make it to television, Tony said: “It is difficult to get new work commissioned on mainstream TV in the UK unless you feature a well-known presenter and it is of a specific length. In the Sixties, Hugh Weldon told Ken Russell to go out and make something for the Monitor programme, but not to spend much. Russell came back with some of the best films about composers ever made, including Delius – Song of Summer.” Tony wants to commission new and exciting projects from film makers who do not have the opportunity to experience the apprenticeships that previous generations benefitted from at the BBC. “It’s what drives me. The technology is getting better and better and the equipment is there, you just need the will and expertise. There are no boundaries anymore.” Tony is delighted Trinity School has taken out a subscription to The Arts Channel: Tony is perhaps best-known for having composed the Champions League Anthem, commissioned by UEFA in 1992. UEFA wanted an anthem that reflected the best in football at a time when the beautiful game was attracting bad press sparked by hooliganism. Having prepared a playlist of classical anthems to get a feel for what UEFA wanted, Tony came up with this now iconic piece of music. Tony recorded the anthem at a studio in Islington with the choir from the Academy of St Martin in the Fields and London’s Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. The anthem has captivated players and fans alike across Europe’s football stadiums. It is said to have motivated Messi and inspired Ronaldo to sing along. Bayern Munich’s captain Steffan Effenberg is reported to have said that whenever he hears the music, the hairs stand up on the back of his neck. Tony said: “To be honest, at the time, we had no idea how big it would become, and now with CBS Sport acquiring the Champions League rights for the States, it's set to become even more popular worldwide” We asked Tony whether UEFA ever requested changes to the Anthem: “Every so often UEFA
Tony believes there will be a real sea change in the artistic landscape post COVID. “As with sporting events, people will have sorely missed going to the theatre, live music performances and the cinema. People will be aching to flock back and will appreciate the arts all the more having been deprived of the opportunity for so long.”
Tony in the audience at our Celebrity Organ Recital
look to rebrand, but not so the Champions League Anthem – they have been told that it is their single strongest branding - as important as the colour red is to Coca-Cola. We tried messing around with it, and even produced a funk version, which worked really well. We sent it to the broadcasters and they agreed it was great, but they decided they would stick to the original.” Tony is incredibly impressed with the facilities available in the music department at Trinity: “When I was at Trinity, there were six windowless practice rooms, including the Director of Music, David Squibb’s office and a music room for choir rehearsals. What Trinity has now is mind-boggling following the refurbishment of ‘Big School’ to become Trinity Concert Hall and a whole new building devoted to music that most universities would be insanely jealous of.” Tony can often be found at Trinity School: “I was delighted when the Headmaster gave me the honour of presenting the prizes at Prize Giving in 2019 – that makes me a serious alumnus, right?”
www.tonybritten.co.uk www.theartschannel.online
Alumni making music
We are incredibly lucky to have state-of-the-art facilities in the music department at Trinity today. We hope many students will follow in the footsteps of these prestigious musicians who have a vast range of musical credits to their names.
Andrew Skeet Matt Nicholson
Andrew Barnabas
Andrew Skeet is a composer, arranger and conductor and is the piano player in Neil Hannon’s orchestral pop band The Divine Comedy. He has orchestrated and conducted a vast array of major studio film scores and high-profile TV series as well as composing his own scores for series on Netflix, Amazon, CNN and the BBC.
Whilst at Trinity, Andrew sang with the Trinity Boys Choir at Glyndebourne and the National Theatre. On leaving the school in 1987, he studied Music at the University of East Anglia and then at the Royal College of Music. From the 1990s, he worked as an arranger with diverse pop artists such as George Michael, Sinead O’Connor and Suede before moving into film and TV composition and orchestration. Andrew released his first solo album Finding Time in 2015 on the Sony Classics label.
His recent film and TV credits include arranging and conducting Seasons III and IV of The Crown, Enola Holmes, Steve Jobs, Spiderman: Into the Spiderverse, BBC’s Dynasties with David Attenborough, with another Attenborough Green Planet series currently in production and composing Great Escapists on Amazon Prime and The Surgeon’s Cut on Netflix.
Andrew has an on-going relationship with the London Philharmonic Orchestra and more recently, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and Decca Records. Credits include new arrangements for all 25 James Bond themes and the Greatest Video Game Music 1&2 which achieved top 20 Billboard 100 success in the US.
When asked about his time at school, Andrew said: “When I was at the school my happiest times were all connected to the music department. If I’m feeling under pressure these days on a recording session, maybe working with a big orchestra and the clock ticking, I just remember that I’ve been doing this sort of thing since I was 11 years old at the school and apart from thinking “blimey that’s a long time ago”, I draw a lot of strength from it. Plus, I’m always early because I can still hear David Squibb insisting that professional musicians are never ever late! (They are sometimes by the way, but admittedly not often).”
www.andrewskeet.com Award winning composer and 1999 Trinity leaver Matt Nicholson scores commercials, film and television from his studios in Lisbon and New York. His versatility has been his signature over the years, from singing with the Trinity Boys Choir at the ENO to playing drums at Glastonbury, French horn with symphony orchestras and winning chamber music competitions playing the piano. He also played the organ whilst at Trinity.
Matt said: “I most likely would not have a career in music if it wasn't for the inspirational lessons I received from David de Warrenne and Jim Warburton at Trinity - de Warrenne was truly a one-in-a-million, a total rock star music teacher. Stuart Robertson taught us how synths and tape machines worked – a huge part of the working music business and a practical element often ignored in academic spheres.” Matt has recorded with some of the world’s top orchestras and has created hundreds of published works for Universal, Position, Ninja Tune, Cavendish, Felt, Reptide, Elias and Audio Network. Credits for commercials include Ford, FIFA, Verizon, L’Oreal, Renault, Nokia, Mazda, Visa and Dove as well as trailers for The Crown and Green Book. Matt also co-wrote the new audio branding for American Airlines. His numerous TV credits include Channel 4’s 7 Year Switch, BBC2’s The Pilgrimage and a raft of other programmes including Tutankhamun, Rescue Dog to Super Dog and Married at First Sight.
The Giles Stanley Management website captures his capabilities: “He has an exceptional talent for capturing emotional sensitivity in precise detail through his work, and his diligence and commitment give him an unfaltering professional integrity.”
www.mattnicholson.tv www.imdb.com/name/nm5727421
Andrew Barnabas clearly has great fun whilst composing, evidenced by the photograph below with co-composing partner, Paul Arnold. Classically trained, Andrew wrote his first musical score for a video game when he was just 17.
Paul Arnold and Andrew Barnabus Andrew, who left Trinity in 1989, sang with the Trinity Boys Choir, played oboe in the concert band and spent his free time at school learning how to programme computers. Andrew’s passion for music and computer programming led to his career taking off in the new field of computer game music.
He was the first in-house composer for Cambridge based developer Millennium Interactive, writing scores for games such as Creatures and Frogger. Paul
Arnold joined him,
Sony bought the studio and they ran the sound department together, thereafter writing and producing scores for PlayStation games including the MediEvil series. The BAFTAnominated duo were among the first games composers to record a full orchestra and chorus, starting with Sony’s Primal.
Twenty years ago, Andrew and Paul set up their own studio 'Bob & Barn' - their games industry pseudonyms. They work with a global network of musicians, studios, engineers, conductors and music editors to help realise their madcap musical ideas, working on features, television shows and games. Their TV credits include The King is Dead, Armchair Detectives and Dead Pixels and films such as The Hatton Garden Job.
Andrew and Paul were recently asked to re-record the soundtrack for the PS4 remake of MediEvil. Andrew said: “This time round, we had the budget for a full orchestra and the technology to make it interactive.” The result is stunning. A documentary featuring Bob & Barn about the re-make of MediEvil can be found on YouTube:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=gn1d_6v-AWk www.bobandbarn.com
