Welcome

John Joubert is among the most respected and well-loved senior figures in British music today. Born in Cape Town in 1927 he won a scholarship to study at the Royal Academy of Music in 1946 and has lived in England ever since. He was appointed Lecturer in Music at Hull University in 1950 and subsequently at the University of Birmingham, taking early retirement from his post as Reader in Music in 1986 in order to devote more time to composition. Joubert is perhaps best known for his choral music. O Lorde the Maker of al Thinge, Torches and There is no Rose have featured in the popular mainstream repertory for many years. He has also enjoyed considerable success with his chamber music, symphonic works and operas commissioned by among others the Royal Philharmonic Society, Three Choirs Festival and the BBC. Recent acclaimed recordings of his Symphony No.1 (LPO/Vernon Handley), String Quartet No.2 (Brodsky Quartet) and song cycle Landscapes (Patricia Rozario) have firmly established his standing as a communicator of consummate skill and integrity.

His eightieth birthday in 2007 was celebrated with the ‘Joubertiade’ — a nationwide and year long series of concerts and events and the release of four new CDs. Commissions that year included Concerto for Oboe and Strings for Lichfield Festival, Five Songs of Incarnation for the choir of New College, Oxford and the world premiere of his latest major work, the oratorio Wings of Faith (Ex Cathedra and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra). 2009 sees first performances of new works at London's Wigmore Hall, Bridgewater Hall, Manchester and two further CDs — one of chamber music, including the Octet, for Toccata Classics and a choral disc from the choir of Gloucester Cathedral.

Please note, a longer biography is also available on this site.

Contact E-mail: info@johnjoubert.org.uk