Christopher Bell RSNO Junior Chorus Chorusmaster

Belfast born Christopher Bell is Chorus Director of the Grant Park Chorus, Chicago, USA, Chorusmaster of the Edinburgh Festival Chorusm the Royal Scottish National Orchestra Junior Chorus, and of the Belfast Philharmonic Choir. He was largely responsible for the formation of the National Youth Choir of Scotland in 1996 and has been its Artistic Director since then. He is also Artistic Director of the highly successful Children's Classic Concert series.

Christopher Bell was educated at Edinburgh University and held his first post as Associate Conductor of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra between 1989 and 1991. Since then he has worked with many of the major orchestras in the UK and Eire, including the Royal Philharmonic, Royal Scottish National, BBC Scottish Symphony, Ulster, Scottish Chamber, City of London Sinfonia, London Concert, RTE National Symphony, RTE Concert and the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestras.

Christopher Bell enjoys working with young people. Before his current posts with the RSNO and NYCoS, for six years he directed the TOTAL Aberdeen Youth Choir, undertaking touring and recordings with them as well as many concerts in the North East of Scotland. He was the first Artistic Director of the Ulster Youth Choir between 1999 and 2004, a group which he developed and moulded into a critically acclaimed ensemble. Concerts in 2004/2005 included performances with the Ulster Orchestra, the RSNO, the Orchestra of Scottish Opera and the Norwegian Radio Symphony Orchestra in Oslo alongside commitments with the RSNO Junior Chorus, Belfast Philharmonic Choir and Children's Classic Concerts.

Additional projects include conducting concerts at the International Tapestry Conference in Glasgow, East meets West, with the RSNO. Concerts at Grant Park in 2005 included two programmes of Baltic Music with the Grant Park Chorus and two performances of Stravinsky's Symphony of Psalms as well as the annual Independence Day concert on 3rd July and numerous outreach and children's concerts. In 2006 he conducted Carmina Burana and Rachmaninov Vespers with the Grant Park Chorus. With the Philharmonic Choir and the Ulster Orchestra he has performed the music of Alan Hovhannes (November 2005) Mozart Requiem in 2006, in 2007 Elijah and in 2008 will conduct Carmina Burana. Concerts in summer 2007 included Grant Park performances of MacMillan Cantos Sagrados, Duruflé Requiem, and a critically acclaimed a-cappella programme of American music. In addition NYCoS undertook a six concert tour of Hungary.

Plans for 2008 include debut appearances with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra in March, and return appearances with the Royal Philharmonic (November), Ulster (January, March and May) and Scottish Opera Orchestras (March and May) as well as recording a disc of the music of Savourna Stevenson, and making recordings with the Grant Park Chorus and Orchestra.

For his work with singers, and particularly his encouragement of young singers in Scotland, Christopher Bell was awarded a Scotsman of the Year 2001 award for Creative Talent. In 2003, he was awarded the Charles Groves Prize for his contribution to cultural life in Scotland and the rest of the UK.

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