Karl Jenkins - PalladioKarl Je

Karl Jenkins was raised in Penclawdd, Gower, Wales in 1944. His initial music education [piano & theory] was with his father, a local school teacher, organist and choir master. He was educated at Gowerton Grammar School [playing oboe in the National Youth Orchestra of Wales] before reading music at the University of Wales, Cardiff. He then commenced postgraduate studies at the Royal Academy of Music, London.

It was in jazz that he initially made his mark. In the days of

“Jazz Polls” he was a prolific poll winner, playing at Ronnie

Scott’s club before co-forming Nucleus, which won first prize at the Montreux Jazz Festival. This was followed by a period with Soft Machine, one of the seminal bands of the 1970s. Defying

categorization, ‘Softs’, through various incarnations, played

venues as diverse as the ‘Proms’, Carnegie Hall and the

Newport [Rhode Island] Jazz Festival.

In the field of advertising music he has won several industry

awards; the prestigious D&AD for best music [twice] and the

‘Creative Circle Gold’. Credits include Levi’s, British Airways,

 Renault, Volvo, De Beers, C&G, Tag Heuer,

Pepsi and countless more. In addition he gained BAFTA Cymru ‘gongs’ for his scores for The Celts and Testament.

It is perhaps for his Adiemus project and ‘classical’ works for

which he is best known. Adiemus has topped classical and

‘pop’ charts around the world. Jenkins has conducted the

Adiemus project in Japan, Germany, Spain, Finland, Holland,

Finland, Belgium as well as London’s Royal Albert Hall and Battersea Power Station.

Commissions include works for the Royal Ballet; BBC Proms in

the Park; the National Youth Orchestra of Wales; Leslie Garret; a marimba concerto for Evelyn Glennie; The Armed Man -

A Mass For Peace, commissioned by the Royal Armouries

(the recording of which reached ‘gold’ award status for UK sales and, as of August 2005, has received over a hundred live

performances); a choral work for the Royal Gala opening of the Wales Millennium Centre in November 2004; Ave Verum for

Bryn Terfel; LSO Percussion Academy; 3rd Yoxford Festival;

several pieces for choirs and numerous works for television

and film.

2002 saw the premiere of his double harp concerto

‘Over The Stone’ commissioned by HRH The Prince of Wales for the then Royal Harpist, Catrin Finch and Elinor Bennett accompanied by the BBC National Orchestra of Wales.

Other projects include scoring and conducting an album of rock classics by Bonnie Tyler and producing Catrin Finch for Sony

Classical; he has written anthems for UNESCO and for the

opening of the Welsh Assembly as well as choral commissions for leading Welsh choirs such as Cor Seiriol, Cywair and Ysgol Ceredigion.

His concertante, ‘Quirk’, commissioned by

 the London Symphony Orchestra and conducted by

Sir Colin Davies, was premiered in February 2005, as part of its centenary season.

Karl has entered Classic FM’s “Hall of Fame” in the Top Ten for two years’ running as the highest position for 

a living composer.

In 2005 Karl composed his first score for the feature film

“River Queen” directed by New Zealander Vincent Ward.

March 2005 saw the release of the acclaimed “Requiem” which is touring Cathedrals nationwide during the months of

September and October this year.

In recent years, Karl has been made both a Fellow and an

Associate of the Royal Academy of Music [where a room

has been named in his honour], a Fellow of the Royal Welsh

College of Music & Drama, a Fellow of Trinity College

Carmarfon, a Fellow of the Swansea Institute and was

presented by Classic FM with the ‘Red f ‘award for

‘outstanding service to classical music’

He was awarded an OBE for services to British Music, by Her Majesty The Queen, in the 2005 New Year’s Honours List.