Jim Parker (composer)
Encyclopedia
Jim Parker is a British composer.
After graduating as a silver medallist at the Guildhall School of Music, Parker played with leading London
orchestras and chamber
groups as well as being a key part of The Barrow Poets for whom he provided both original instrumental music and music to accompany the performance of a wide range of poetry spoken or sung by the rest of the band. This music was played on a variety of instruments including the bass cacacofiddle, a home made sort of double bass
with knobs on, played by William Bealby-Wright, while Parker mostly played oboe and cor anglais..
Parker subsequently concentrated on composing and conducting. He had early success with a series of recordings in which he set the poems of the British Poet Laureate
Sir John Betjeman
to music; the recordings, in which the poet recited his own words and the composer conducted a small group of musicians, have continued to be held in high regard by listeners and critics. These and subsequent records, including Captain Beaky,with words by Jeremy Lloyd, which topped the charts as both a single and album, led to work in television as well as in London West End theatres, where Parker has had three musicals produced. The most successful of these was "Follow the Star", with book and lyrics by Wally K Daly. It was originally produced at Chichester and was directed by Wendy Toye. Film scores include music for numerous feature-length television films and for new prints of the classic silent films Girl Shy
, by Harold Lloyd
and The Blot
, a 1921 film directed by Lois Weber
.
He has won the British Academy Award for Best Original Television Music four times, and has written scores for over two hundred programmes. His work in film
and television
ranges from music for Moll Flanders
, Tom Jones
, Midsomer Murders
Foyle's War and The House of Eliott
, to the score for the contemporary political thrillers House of Cards
,and "To Play The King. With Tom Stanier he wrote the music for schools programmes such as Watch, Zig Zag and Fourways Farm plus musicals such as "Blast Off" and "Mr Jones Goes To Jupiter".
Concert works have been written for the Nash Ensemble
, Philip Jones Brass
, The Hilliard Ensemble, The Albion Ensemble, The Wallace Collection and Poems in the Underground. His published compositions include "A Londoner in New York" for brass
, "Mississippi Five" for wind quintet
, "The Golden Section
" for brass quintet
, and a clarinet concerto
. He is also the recipient of an honorary degree from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama
.
After graduating as a silver medallist at the Guildhall School of Music, Parker played with leading London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
orchestras and chamber
Chamber music
Chamber music is a form of classical music, written for a small group of instruments which traditionally could be accommodated in a palace chamber. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small number of performers with one performer to a part...
groups as well as being a key part of The Barrow Poets for whom he provided both original instrumental music and music to accompany the performance of a wide range of poetry spoken or sung by the rest of the band. This music was played on a variety of instruments including the bass cacacofiddle, a home made sort of double bass
Double bass
The double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...
with knobs on, played by William Bealby-Wright, while Parker mostly played oboe and cor anglais..
Parker subsequently concentrated on composing and conducting. He had early success with a series of recordings in which he set the poems of the British Poet Laureate
Poet Laureate
A poet laureate is a poet officially appointed by a government and is often expected to compose poems for state occasions and other government events...
Sir John Betjeman
John Betjeman
Sir John Betjeman, CBE was an English poet, writer and broadcaster who described himself in Who's Who as a "poet and hack".He was a founding member of the Victorian Society and a passionate defender of Victorian architecture...
to music; the recordings, in which the poet recited his own words and the composer conducted a small group of musicians, have continued to be held in high regard by listeners and critics. These and subsequent records, including Captain Beaky,with words by Jeremy Lloyd, which topped the charts as both a single and album, led to work in television as well as in London West End theatres, where Parker has had three musicals produced. The most successful of these was "Follow the Star", with book and lyrics by Wally K Daly. It was originally produced at Chichester and was directed by Wendy Toye. Film scores include music for numerous feature-length television films and for new prints of the classic silent films Girl Shy
Girl Shy
Girl Shy is a 1924 romantic comedy silent film starring Harold Lloyd and Jobyna Ralston. The movie was written by Sam Taylor, Tim Whelan and Ted Wilde and was directed by Fred C...
, by Harold Lloyd
Harold Lloyd
Harold Clayton Lloyd, Sr. was an American film actor and producer, most famous for his silent comedies....
and The Blot
The Blot
The Blot is an American silent drama film directed by Lois Weber with her husband Phillips Smalley in 1921. The film tackles the social problem of genteel poverty, focusing on a starving family. It stars Claire Windsor, Louis Calhern and Marie Walcamp....
, a 1921 film directed by Lois Weber
Lois Weber
Lois Weber was an American silent film actress, screenwriter, producer, and director, who is considered "the most important female director the American film industry has known", and "one of the most important and important and prolific film directors in the era of silent films". Film historian...
.
He has won the British Academy Award for Best Original Television Music four times, and has written scores for over two hundred programmes. His work in film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
and television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
ranges from music for Moll Flanders
Moll Flanders
The Fortunes and Misfortunes of the Famous Moll Flanders is a novel written by Daniel Defoe in 1722, after his work as a journalist and pamphleteer. By 1722, Defoe had become a recognised novelist, with the success of Robinson Crusoe in 1719...
, Tom Jones
Tom Jones (film)
Tom Jones is a 1963 British adventure comedy film, an adaptation of Henry Fielding's classic novel The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling , starring Albert Finney as the titular hero. It was one of the most critically acclaimed and popular comedies of its time, winning four Academy Awards...
, Midsomer Murders
Midsomer Murders
Midsomer Murders is a British television detective drama that has aired on ITV since 1997. The show is based on the books by Caroline Graham, as originally adapted by Anthony Horowitz. The lead character is DCI Tom Barnaby who works for Causton CID. When Nettles left the show in 2011 he was...
Foyle's War and The House of Eliott
The House of Eliott
The House of Eliott is a British television series produced and broadcast by the BBC in three series between 1991 and 1994. The series starred Stella Gonet and Louise Lombard as two sisters in 1920s London who establish a dressmaking business and eventually their own haute couture fashion house...
, to the score for the contemporary political thrillers House of Cards
House of Cards
House of Cards is a 1990 political thriller television drama serial by the BBC in four parts, set after the end of Margaret Thatcher's tenure as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. It was televised from 18 November to 9 December 1990, to critical and popular acclaim...
,and "To Play The King. With Tom Stanier he wrote the music for schools programmes such as Watch, Zig Zag and Fourways Farm plus musicals such as "Blast Off" and "Mr Jones Goes To Jupiter".
Concert works have been written for the Nash Ensemble
Nash Ensemble
The Nash Ensemble of London is an acclaimed English chamber ensemble. It was founded by Artistic Director Amelia Freedman in 1964, while she was a student at the Royal Academy of Music, and was named after the Nash Terraces around the Academy...
, Philip Jones Brass
Philip Jones Brass Ensemble
The Philip Jones Brass Ensemble, founded in 1951 by trumpeter Philip Jones, was one of the first modern classical brass ensembles to be formed. The group played either as a quintet or as a ten-piece, for larger halls...
, The Hilliard Ensemble, The Albion Ensemble, The Wallace Collection and Poems in the Underground. His published compositions include "A Londoner in New York" for brass
Brass
Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc; the proportions of zinc and copper can be varied to create a range of brasses with varying properties.In comparison, bronze is principally an alloy of copper and tin...
, "Mississippi Five" for wind quintet
Wind quintet
A wind quintet, also sometimes known as a woodwind quintet, is a group of five wind players . The term also applies to a composition for such a group....
, "The Golden Section
The Golden Section
The Golden Section is a 1983 album by English musician John Foxx. A progression from the sound of The Garden , Foxx called The Golden Section "a roots check: Beatles, Church music, Psychedelia, The Shadows, The Floyd, The Velvets, Roy Orbison, Kraftwerk, and cheap pre-electro Europop".The album was...
" for brass quintet
Brass quintet
A brass quintet is a five-piece musical ensemble composed of brass instruments. The most common instrumentation is two trumpets or cornets, one horn, one trombone or euphonium/baritone horn, and one tuba or bass trombone....
, and a clarinet concerto
Concerto
A concerto is a musical work usually composed in three parts or movements, in which one solo instrument is accompanied by an orchestra.The etymology is uncertain, but the word seems to have originated from the conjunction of the two Latin words...
. He is also the recipient of an honorary degree from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama
Guildhall School of Music and Drama
Guildhall School of Music and Drama is an independent music and dramatic arts school which was founded in 1880 in London, England. Students can pursue courses in Music, Opera, Drama and Technical Theatre Arts.-History:...
.