Francis Pott (composer)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
1957 (age 68–69)
- Composer
- Pianist
- Academic teacher
Francis Pott | |
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| Born | Francis John Dolben Pott 1957 (age 68–69) England |
| Occupations |
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Francis John Dolben Pott (born 25 August 1957) is a British composer, pianist and academic.
Following early training as a chorister at New College,[1] Pott held open music scholarships at Winchester College and Magdalene College, Cambridge, studying composition at the latter with Robin Holloway and Hugh Wood while also pursuing piano studies as a private pupil of the late Hamish Milne in London.[2] He holds BA, BMus and MA degrees from the University of Cambridge and a PhD from the University of West London, as well as a Fellowship of London College of Music (FLCM) and a Principal Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy (PFHEA). He was a member of Winchester Cathedral Choir under David Hill from 1991 until 2001, touring the USA, the Netherlands, Brazil, Germany, France and Norway and also participating in many CD recordings and broadcasts[3]
For many years Pott was John Bennett Lecturer in Music at St Hilda's College, Oxford. In 2001 he was appointed administrative and academic head of the London College of Music, one of the eight schools within the University of West London. He later became head of both composition and research development in music, media and creative technologies, and in February 2007 was appointed to the university's first Chair of Composition. He occupied this post until his retirement on 31 August 2023. The University of West London will formally confer upon Pott the title professor emeritus at its graduation ceremonies in November 2023. Pott is now devoting substantially more time to composition.
Pott has received many national awards as a composer and in 1997 gained first prize in the second S. S. Prokofiev International Composing Competition in Moscow. In the 2004 Barlow International Composition Award (USA) he was placed second out of a global entry by 362 composers, receiving an honorable mention. In both 2006 and 2011 he was a nominated as a finalist in the choral section of the BASCA Annual Composer Awards in London. In 2020 he was announced as recipient of the Medal of the Royal College of Organists - its highest award - in recognition of distinguished achievement as a composer of organ and sacred choral music.
In February 2008 Pott was a keynote speaker alongside James MacMillan and Jonathan Harvey at the Contemporary Music and Spirituality conference convened at the South Bank Centre in London by Robert Sholl for the London College of Music, in association with the Royal Musical Association.
Pott has appeared frequently as a two-piano duo recitalist with Jeremy Filsell and Roger Owens. He is writing an extended critical study of the works of the Russian composer Nikolai Medtner, on whose music he is an authority. His existing publications in prose include a chapter on his own music in the book 'Contemporary Music and Spirituality', edited by Robert Sholl and Sander van Maas (Routledge, London & New York, 2016; ISBN 978-1-4094-4058-1).
Pott lives near Winchester in Hampshire. His two adult children have both followed in his musical footsteps.[4]
