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Biography
distinguish|Carl JenkinsInfobox musical artist| name =Karl Jenkins| image =Karljenkins.jpg| alt =| caption =| image_size =170| landscape = | background =non_vocal_instrumentalist| birth_name =Karl William Pamp Jenkins| alias =| birth_date =birth date and age|1944|02|17| birth_place = Gower Peninsula|Gower , Penclawdd | origin = Swansea , south Wales | genre =| occupation =| instrument =| years_active = | label =| associated_acts = Adiemus , Soft Machine| website =URL|karljenkins.com| notable_instruments = Karl William Pamp Jenkins , Order of the British Empire|CBE (born 17 February 1944) is a Welsh musician and composer.
Early life and education
Jenkins was born and raised in the Gower Peninsula|Gower village of Penclawdd , in the county of Swansea , south Wales . His father, who was a local schoolteacher, organist, and choirmaster, gave him his initial musical instruction. Karl Jenkins attended Gowerton Grammar School.
Jenkins began his musical career as an oboe|oboist in the National Youth Orchestra of Wales . He went on to study music at Cardiff University , and then commenced postgraduate studies in London at the Royal Academy of Music , where he also met his wife and musical collaborator, Carol Barratt. He studied with Alun Hoddinott . http://www2.le.ac.uk/ebulletin/news/2000-2009/2007/07/nparticle.2007-07-16.1970582975 University of Leicester - Oration for Karl Jenkins by Professor Gordon Campbell http://www.karljenkins.com/pressarticle.php? id=32 Press article at www.karljenkins.comAllmusic|class=artist|id=p147683|pure_url=yes Carol Barratt at Allmusic
Career overview
For the bulk of his early career Jenkins was known as a jazz and jazz fusion|jazz-rock musician, playing baritone sax|baritone and soprano sax|soprano saxophone s, keyboards and oboe , an unusual instrument in a jazz context. He joined jazz composer Graham Collier 's group and later co-founded the jazz-rock group Nucleus (band)|Nucleus , which won first prize at the Montreux Jazz Festival in 1970. He joined the Canterbury progressive rock band Soft Machine in 1972 and co-led their very last performances in 1984. The group defied categorisation and played venues as diverse as The Proms , Carnegie Hall , and the Newport Jazz Festival . The album on which Jenkins first played with Soft Machine, Six (Soft Machine album)|Six , won the Melody Maker British Jazz Album of the Year award in 1973. Jenkins also won the miscellaneous musical instrument section (as he did the following year). Soft Machine was voted best small group in the Melody Maker jazz poll of 1974. After Mike Ratledge left the band in 1976 Soft Machine did not include any of its founding members, but kept recording on a project basis with line-ups revolving around Jenkins and drummer John Stanley Marshall|John Marshall . Balanced against Melody Maker's positive view of the Soft Machine of 1973 and 1974, Hugh Hopper , involved with the group since replacing bassist Kevin Ayers in 1968, cites Jenkins's "third rate" musical involvement in his own decision to leave the band, Out-Bloody-Rageous , Graham Bennett, 2008 (ISBN 0-946719-8-5) page 246 and the band of the late 1970s has been described by band member John Etheridge as wasting its potential. Out-Bloody-Rageous , Graham Bennett, 2008 (ISBN 0-946719-8-5) page 324 In November 1973, Jenkins and Ratledge participated in a live-in-the-studio performance of Mike Oldfield 's Tubular Bells for the BBC.cite web|url= http://www.memorabletv.com/global/uk-tv/second-house-tubular-bells-mike-oldfield/|title=SECOND HOUSE: TUBULAR BELLS – MIKE OLDFIELD|work=Memorable TV|accessdate=2011-04-24 It is available on Oldfield's Elements - The Best of Mike Oldfield (video)|Elements DVD.
Jenkins has created a good deal of advertising music, twice winning the industry prize in that field. Perhaps his most-heard piece of music is the classical theme used by De Beers diamond merchants for their television advertising campaign focusing on jewellery worn by people otherwise seen only in silhouette . Jenkins later included this as the title track in a compilation called Diamond Music , and eventually created Palladio , using it as the theme of the first movement.
listen|filename=Palladio.ogg |title=Karl Jenkins - "Theme from Palladio" |description=an excerpt from the piece.
As a composer, his breakthrough came with the crossover project Adiemus . Jenkins has conducted the Adiemus project in Japan , Germany , Spain , Finland , the Netherlands , and Belgium , as well as London's Royal Albert Hall and Battersea Power Station . The Adiemus: Songs of Sanctuary (1995) album topped the classical album charts. It spawned a series of successors, each revolving around a central theme.
Jenkins was the first international composer and conductor to conduct the University of Johannesburg Kingsway Choir led by Renette Bouwer , during his visit to South Africa as the choir performed his The Armed Man|The Armed Man: A mass for peace together with a 70 piece orchestra.
He is also a joint president of the British Double Reed Society .cite web | url = http://www.bdrs.org.uk/bdrs | title = About the BDRS | author = | publisher = British Double Reed Society | format = | work = | accessdate = 2009-02-24 | date = 2009-02-24
Awards and achievements
Jenkins holds a doctorate in music from the University of Wales . He has been made both a fellow and an associate of the Royal Academy of Music , and a room has been named in his honour. He also has fellowships at Cardiff University , the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama , Trinity College Carmarthen and Swansea Metropolitan University , and was presented by Classic FM (UK)|Classic FM with the Red f award for outstanding service to classical music.
In 2008, Jenkins was listed as #1 on "Top 10 by living composers" in Classic FM with his "The Armed Man".cite web|url= http://www.classicfm.co.uk/on-air/hall-fame/hall-fame-2008/top-10-living-composers/ |title=Top 10 by living composers 2008 |publisher=classicfm.co.uk |date=2008 |accessdate=2012-01-28
He was awarded an honorary doctorate in music from the University of Leicester , the Chancellor's Medal from the University of Glamorgan and honorary visiting professorships at Thames Valley University , London College of Music and the ATriUM, Cardiff .
Jenkins was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2005 New Year Honours and Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2010 Birthday Honours.London Gazette |issue=59446 |date=12 June 2010 |startpage=7 |supp=yes http://www.channel4.com/news/articles/arts_entertainment/cbe+for+zeta+jones+knighthood+for+harwood/3677442 CBE for Zeta Jones, knighthood for Harwood
Jenkins has recently been appoint Patron of the International Schools Choral Music Society, ISCMS.
This Land of Ours (2007) — with Cory Band and Cantorion , aka Only Men Aloud!
Stabat Mater (Jenkins)|Stabat Mater (2008) — Jenkins' adaptation of a 13th Century Roman Catholic Poem
The Concertos (2008) — Over the Stone (a double harp concerto), La Folia (for marimba), Quirk (a concertante for flutes, keyboards, percussion), Sarikiz (a violin concerto), re-recording of the first movement of the Palladio concerto grosso
Stella Natalis (2009)
Gloria / Te Deum (2010) — with Hayley Westenra
The Very Best of Karl Jenkins (2011)
References
ReflistInternational Schools Choral Music Society www.ISCMS.net
External links
http://www.karljenkins.com/ Karl Jenkins official website
http://calyx.club.fr/mus/jenkins_karl.html Biography at Calyx (Canterbury music website)
http://www.myspace.com/jenkinsadiemus Karl Jenkins on MySpace
http://admusicdb.com/ads/tag/karl-jenkins.html Karl Jenkis's music in TV Commercials at http://admusicdb.com/ ADmusicDB.com
http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/music/sites/karl-jenkins/ Karl Jenkins biography from BBC Wales
http://www.whatsonwales.co.uk/interviews/i/16114/l/1/ Karl Jenkins interview
Soft Machine Persondata | NAME = Jenkins, Karl | ALTERNATIVE NAMES = | SHORT DESCRIPTION = | DATE OF BIRTH = 1944-02-17 | PLACE OF BIRTH = Gower Peninsula|Gower , Penclawdd | DATE OF DEATH = | PLACE OF DEATH = DEFAULTSORT:Jenkins, Karl Category:1944 births Category:Living people Category:British composers Category:People from Swansea Category:Alumni of Cardiff University Category:Alumni of the Royal Academy of Music Category:20th-century classical composers Category:21st-century classical composers Category:Ambient musicians Category:British jazz musicians Category:Soft Machine members Category:Canterbury scene Category:Welsh composers Category:Academics of the University of Glamorgan Category:Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Category:People educated at Gowerton Grammar School
