John Rutter, British composer and Honorary Artistic President of the international choral events organiser INTERKULTUR since 2017, will be awarded the European Church Music Prize 2019 at the European Church Music Festival in Schwäbisch Gmünd on 18 July.
Since 1999, the prize has been bestowed on high-ranking performers and composers for groundbreaking achievements in the field of sacred music. This year, the jury honours John Rutter’s outstanding contributions in this field.
The internationally successful musician was born in London in 1945, studied music at Clare College in Cambridge, which is renowned for its choir, and was Music Director at the same college from 1975 to 1979. In 1983 he founded his own choir, the Cambridge Singers, with whom he also produced numerous recordings of his own works.
He splits his time between his work as a composer and his activities as a conductor. Rutter also appeared as a guest conductor and lecturer in concert halls, universities, churches, at renowned music and choir festivals and conferences around the world. For the choir event of the World Choir Games 2018 in South Africa, he composed a hymn whose text sums up the essence of choral singing: ‘Singing with one voice, one hope, one heart’s desire …’.
Rutter was declared Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 2007. At the Grand Prix of Nations & 3rd European Choir Games 2017 in Riga he was appointed Honorary Artistic President of INTERKULTUR. John Rutter’s best-known works include settings of the Gloria, Requiem and Magnificat.
