Adrian Bawtree

Adrian Bawtree (born 1968) is an English composer and organist who currently serves as Director of Music and Organist at Rochester Cathedral.

Education and family

Bawtree was educated at Christ's Hospital before attending the University of Oxford and was an organ scholar at St Bride's Church, Fleet Street, in London. He later studied at Worcester College, Oxford, under David Sanger, and won a silver medal from the Worshipful Company of Musicians for achieving the highest score in the Royal College of Organists exam. He took a postgraduate degree in orchestral conducting at the Royal College of Music.^[1]

Bawtree is married to Victoria Rowcroft, Head of Academic Music at St Edmunds School in Canterbury, with whom he has two sons, Matthew and Theo.

Career

Bawtree initially worked as an organist in several churches in England, and is currently the musical director of Cantores Dominicae and the Canterbury Singers^[2] and the conductor of the Weald Choir of Crawley. He worked part-time at Christ's Hospital as the chapel organist and as an assistant housemaster before succeeding Bruce Grindlay as Director of Music at the school when Grindlay became headmaster of Sutton Valence School.

In April 2014 Bawtree was appointed Assistant Sub-Organist of Rochester Cathedral, with responsibility for playing services at weekends and major festivals.^[3] In September 2015 he was appointed Second Assistant Organist at Canterbury Cathedral.

In 2022 he was appointed Director of Music and Organist at Rochester Cathedral.^[4]

Bawtree occasionally conducts orchestras as well as choirs. He has composed a work inspired by the Battle of Trafalgar and Admiral Nelson called England Expects, as well as a piece called Footsteps along the Road. He has toured the Czech Republic, Hungary and the United States,^[5] and has also worked with the BBC Singers.

References

1. "conducting business - Adrian Bawtree". Conductingbusiness.co.uk. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
2. "Worthing Choral Society". Archived from the original on 4 June 2009. Retrieved 10 March 2010.
3. "Rochester Cathedral document, January 2015" (PDF). Rochester Cathedral. January 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 April 2015. Retrieved 10 April 2015.
4. Cathedral, Rochester (9 May 2022). "Appointment of Director of Music and Organist". Rochester Cathedral. Retrieved 9 May 2022.
5. Greenfield, Phil (16 July 1998). "British organist to play in Annapolis tomorrow Virtuoso: Adrian Bawtree, who has performed at some of the most prestigious concert venues in England, comes to the Naval Academy Chapel". Baltimoresun.com. Retrieved 9 August 2020.

Academic offices
Preceded by Bruce Grindlay	Director of Music at Christ's Hospital 2009−2011	Succeeded by Andrew Cleary

Cultural offices
Preceded by Francesca Massey	Organist and Master of the Choristers of Rochester Cathedral 2022−present	Succeeded by Incumbent