A composer since the age of seven, Christopher Gibbs (born 1938) studied at Trinity College of Music (Gladys Puttick) and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama (Carey Blyton) in London. He has taught music for many years and lectured for the University of Birmingham. Until his recent retirement he taught piano and composition in Grange-over-Sands, and did weekly classes in improvisation (classical, jazz and contemporary) with young instrumentalists at Cartmel Music Centre, near Grange.
His recent compositions include a large scale Violin Concerto, several shorter pieces for orchestra, a piece for brass quintet ("Over Sands"), a cantata ("Viking Runes") for soprano, mixed chorus and orchestra, about 35 pieces for string orchestra, wind quartet, string quartet, brass band, choir SATB, piano solo, organ solo, piano and instrumental duo, and some songs. His one-act music drama Across an Unknown Sea received its first performance at the Sedbergh Festival in summer 2004. In 2016 he was given a commission by the Lord of Bowland to write a series of choral pieces Music of the Forest, and this is to receive its first performance in June 2017.
E-mail: chris@gibbs22.plus.com
Web-site: www.lakelandcomposers.org.uk/