Lee Dunleavy

During his eight years at the prominent church of All Saints, Northampton, he directed choirs totalling over 100 singers in seven weekly choral services, regular concerts, commercial recordings, and tours throughout the UK, Europe, and North America. There he also commissioned numerous choral works, including pieces by David Bednall, Sir Richard Rodney Bennett, David Briggs, Jonathan Dove, Michael Finnissy, Stephen Hough, Francis Jackson, and Sir James MacMillan.

As an organ recitalist he is celebrated for the diversity of his programmes, which often encompass music from the fifteenth century right through traditional repertoire up to Jazz and Blues-inspired works. He has performed on BBC One, BBC Radio 3 and 4, and toured throughout Europe, Canada and the United States. In recent years he has developed a series of insightful lecture-recitals which have explored the works of Buxtehude, Messiaen, and Sibelius, and the acclaimed series “Back to Bach”, which has drawn in a new audience to the organ.

Lee is also an active composer and his studies at university led to the award of a Britten-Pears Scholarship to study with the current Master of the Queen’s Music, Judith Weir; this in turn led to the commissioning and performance of his first Piano Quintet at the South Bank Centre, London. Whilst his most prominent compositions are written in a very modern idiom, he is equally at home writing melodic and accessible works for groups of all ages and abilities. His works have been performed at many of the major concert halls, cathedrals and churches across the country.