After leaving Westminster School and spending a term at Magdalen College, Oxford, he entered the Royal College of Music to study musical theater. By the age of 15, the young composer was already working on his own musicals, and his father enrolled him part-time at the Eric Gilder School of Music. In the meantime, he was exposed to theater by his aunt Viola, an actress. Andrew started writing his first melodies at age seven and compiled a suite of six piano pieces when he was 11. His younger brother, Julian Lloyd Webber, became an internationally celebrated cellist. His anthem for the coronation of Charles III and Camilla, Make a Joyful Noise, was incorporated into the May 2023 ceremony.īorn in Kensington in 1948, Andrew Lloyd Webber took after his parents, violist/pianist Jean Hermione Johnstone and composer/organist William Lloyd Webber, a one-time director of the London College of Music. soundtrack and cast album charts into a sixth decade. In 2020, a film version of Cats produced a highlights album that extended the composer's intermittent presence on the U.S. An EGOT winner, Lloyd Webber took home four Grammys in the '80s and '90s, won an Oscar (with Rice) for "You Must Love Me" from the 1996 film adaptation of his Evita, and collected seven Tony Awards before capping off the acronym with an Emmy win for Jesus Christ Superstar: Live in Concert in 2018. Over the years, Lloyd Webber occasionally branched into other forms, including a film score (1974's The Odessa File) and classical works (1985's Requiem), but he continued to premiere musicals at a regular rate, composing the music while frequent writing partners including Tim Rice and Don Black provided lyrics. The London native broke box-office records at home and in New York with shows like Cats (1981) and The Phantom of the Opera (1988), the former of which featured the hit song "Memory" and latter of which became the longest-running show in Broadway history. Those works that also featured storytelling with no dialogue - including his third stage musical, 1971's Jesus Christ Superstar - were dubbed rock operas in the tradition of the Who's Tommy. His work typically combines dramatic, emotional plots with anthemic music that incorporates both classical and rock elements. In 2012 Ben was elected as an Associate of the Royal Academy of Music (ARAM) in recognition of his significant contribution to the music profession.īen play’s on a late 17th century cello by the dutch maker Cornelius Kleymann.A prime torchbearer of the rock musical, Andrew Lloyd Webber is the most successful Broadway and West End composer of his generation. Extra work with chamber orchestras, include London Mozart Players, City of London Sinfonia, BBC concert Orchestra and Irish Chamber Orchestra. He continues to enjoy the variety of the freelance scene which has included work in the theatres of London’s West End, seasons with the Royal Shakespeare Company, tours with Shirley Bassey (including a memorable performance on the main stage of Glastonbury in 2007 ) a tour of Europe with Peter Gabriel, film and pop session work, being a former member of the Graham Fitkin Group and the Opus 20 String Ensemble. He is also a member of the cello sections of the Glyndebourne on Tour and Garsington orchestras and has been guest principal cello at Longborough Festival Opera. Since 2000 Ben has been Principal Cello of the English Touring Opera orchestra, including seasons of baroque opera performed on period instruments and the Olivier Award winning production of King Priam in 2014. He has recently been invited by Julian Lloyd Webber to give a masterclass at Birmingham Conservatoire. Former prize winning students include Sheku Kanneh Mason, BBC’s Young Musician of the Year 2016.īen has participated in educational projects with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Britten Sinfonia, Opus 20 String Ensemble, English Touring Opera and the Apollo Chamber Orchestra. He has prepared students for entrance to all of the UK’s conservatoires. Following initial positions as cello teacher in the 1990’s at Marlborough College, Wells Cathedral School and the Guildhall school of Music, Ben has, since 2000, taught cello and chamber music at Royal Holloway University of London and the junior department of the Royal Academy of Music, as well as teaching privately from his home in London.
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