Peter Butterfield
Encyclopedia
Peter Butterfield is a Canadian
conductor
and classical tenor
. In 2003 he founded the VancouverVoices and since 2009 he has been the director of the Victoria Philharmonic Choir
. As a singer he has performed throughout Europe, Asia, and North America; working primarily as a concert singer since the early 1980s. He has also appeared on radio and television programs in Canada, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United States, and the United Kingdom. He is married to mezzo-soprano
Sarah Fryer.
and is a graduate of McGill University
where he earned a bachelors degree in music. In 1987 he entered the graduate voice program at the Royal Northern College of Music
in Manchester. He then pursued further studies in Europe where he was a pupil of Arrigo Pola
, the teacher of Luciano Pavarotti
, in Modena
, Italy
and Diane Forlano in London
, England
.
in 1982. Since then he has been performing internationally. After moving to Europe in 1987 he continued to build his singing career in England and then in Italy. For a time he was a solo treble at King's College, Cambridge
with Sir David Willcocks. As a soloist he has appearanced with The Bach Choir
, the Bayreuth Festival Chorus
with conductor Norbert Balatsch
, the Monteverdi Choir
under the baton of Sir John Eliot Gardiner
, and the Philharmonia Chorus
. Although primarily a concert singer, he has also appeared occasionally in opera
s, including appearances at the Teatro Comunale Florence
, the Opéra de Monte-Carlo
, and a portrayal of the title role in Benjamin Britten
's Albert Herring
at the Aldeburgh Festival
.
In his native country, Butterfield has sung as a soloist with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra
, the Symphony Nova Scotia
, the Kingston Symphony
, the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra
, the National Arts Centre Orchestra
, the Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra, the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra
, and the Victoria Symphony
. He has also worked with the Studio de musique ancienne de Montréal
on a number of occasions. In 2007 he notably replaced an ailing Ben Heppner
at the last minute as the tenor soloist in Edward Elgar
's The Dream of Gerontius
with the Vancouver Symphony.
In the United States Butterfield has performed with orchestras and choruses in Atlanta, Boston, Cleveland, Denver, New York City, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington D.C. In Europe he has performed in concert in numerous places, including the Concertgebouw
in Amsterdam, the Palais des Beaux Arts in Brussels, the Barbican Centre
in London, the Musikverein in Vienna, and the Grosses Festspielhaus in Salzburg. In Asia he has sung in Japan and China, notably appearing as the tenor soloist in an internationally broadcast production of Johann Sebastian Bach
's Mass in B Minor from Suntory Hall
in Tokyo. He has performed under the batons of such conductors as Steuart Bedford
, Jane Glover
, Christopher Hogwood
, Jeanne Lamon
, and Nicholas McGegan
.
and in 2003, he established the chamber choir VancouverVoices. In 2007 he went on to establish VancouverVoices youth choir for singers 10–18 years. In April 2009 he succeeded Simon Capet
as the director of the Victoria Philharmonic Choir
.
es by Joseph Haydn
with Sir John Eliot Gardiner for Philips Classics Records
where he appears as the tenor soloist. One of those recordings was named "recording of the month" by Gramophone in January 2003. His other recordings as a soloist include the Monyeverdi and the Sixth Book of Madrigals on the Nuova Era label, two recordings with the Winchester Cathedral Choir
and conductor David Hill
for Decca Records
, and Sergei Rachmaninoff
's All-Night Vigil with David Hill and The Philharmonia Chorus for Nimbus Records
.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
conductor
Conducting
Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. The primary duties of the conductor are to unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, and to listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble...
and classical tenor
Tenor
The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...
. In 2003 he founded the VancouverVoices and since 2009 he has been the director of the Victoria Philharmonic Choir
Victoria Philharmonic Choir
The Victoria Philharmonic Choir is a 60-voice auditioned choir based inVictoria, British Columbia. Conducted by Peter Butterfield, the choir performs a wide range of a cappella and accompanied music, and complements the nationally known Victoria Symphony and Pacific Opera VictoriaAn international...
. As a singer he has performed throughout Europe, Asia, and North America; working primarily as a concert singer since the early 1980s. He has also appeared on radio and television programs in Canada, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United States, and the United Kingdom. He is married to mezzo-soprano
Mezzo-soprano
A mezzo-soprano is a type of classical female singing voice whose range lies between the soprano and the contralto singing voices, usually extending from the A below middle C to the A two octaves above...
Sarah Fryer.
Education
Butterfield was raised in Victoria, British ColumbiaVictoria, British Columbia
Victoria is the capital city of British Columbia, Canada and is located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of about 78,000 within the metropolitan area of Greater Victoria, which has a population of 360,063, the 15th most populous Canadian...
and is a graduate of McGill University
McGill University
Mohammed Fathy is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university bears the name of James McGill, a prominent Montreal merchant from Glasgow, Scotland, whose bequest formed the beginning of the university...
where he earned a bachelors degree in music. In 1987 he entered the graduate voice program at the Royal Northern College of Music
Royal Northern College of Music
The Royal Northern College of Music is a music school in Manchester, England. It is located on Oxford Road in Chorlton on Medlock, at the western edge of the campus of the University of Manchester and is one of four conservatories associated with the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music...
in Manchester. He then pursued further studies in Europe where he was a pupil of Arrigo Pola
Arrigo Pola
Arrigo Pola was an Italian tenor who had an active international performance career during the 1940s through the 1960s. He then embarked on a second career as a celebrated voice teacher in both Italy and Japan. Among his notable pupils were tenors Luciano Pavarotti, Giuliano Bernardi, and Vincenzo...
, the teacher of Luciano Pavarotti
Luciano Pavarotti
right|thumb|Luciano Pavarotti performing at the opening of the Constantine Palace in [[Strelna]], 31 May 2003. The concert was part of the celebrations for the 300th anniversary of [[St...
, in Modena
Modena
Modena is a city and comune on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy....
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
and Diane Forlano in 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...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
Singing career
Butterfield made his professional debut as a concert soloist with the Montreal Symphony OrchestraMontreal Symphony Orchestra
Orchestre symphonique de Montréal is a symphony orchestra based in Montréal, Québec, Canada, with Montréal's Place des Arts as its home.-History:...
in 1982. Since then he has been performing internationally. After moving to Europe in 1987 he continued to build his singing career in England and then in Italy. For a time he was a solo treble at King's College, Cambridge
King's College, Cambridge
King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college's full name is "The King's College of our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge", but it is usually referred to simply as "King's" within the University....
with Sir David Willcocks. As a soloist he has appearanced with The Bach Choir
The Bach Choir
The Bach Choir is a large chorus, based in London, England. It has around 220 active members. The choir's musical director is David Hill and previous musical directors have included Sir Charles Villiers Stanford, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Reginald Jacques and Sir David Willcocks.The Bach Choir is an...
, the Bayreuth Festival Chorus
Bayreuth Festival
The Bayreuth Festival is a music festival held annually in Bayreuth, Germany, at which performances of operas by the 19th century German composer Richard Wagner are presented...
with conductor Norbert Balatsch
Norbert Balatsch
Norbert Balatsch is an Austrian conductor and chorus master. He began his career as a baritone in the opera chorus of the Vienna State Opera. He eventually became the long term chorus master at that house and for many years was the chorus master of the Bayreuth Festival. He has prepared choruses...
, the Monteverdi Choir
Monteverdi Choir
The Monteverdi Choir was founded in 1964 by Sir John Eliot Gardiner for a performance of the Monteverdi Vespers in King's College Chapel, Cambridge. A specialist Baroque ensemble, the Choir has become famous for its stylistic conviction and extensive repertoire, encompassing music from the early...
under the baton of Sir John Eliot Gardiner
John Eliot Gardiner
Sir John Eliot Gardiner CBE FKC is an English conductor. He founded the Monteverdi Choir , the English Baroque Soloists and the Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique...
, and the Philharmonia Chorus
Philharmonia Chorus
The Philharmonia Chorus is an independent self-governing symphony choir of up to 150 singers based in London, UK. It performs concert and operatic choral repertory from baroque to contemporary...
. Although primarily a concert singer, he has also appeared occasionally in opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
s, including appearances at the Teatro Comunale Florence
Teatro Comunale Florence
The Teatro Comunale di Firenze is an opera house in Florence, Italy. It was originally built as the open-air amphitheatre, the Politeama Fiorentino Vittorio Emanuele which was inaugurated on 17 May 1862 with a production of Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor and which seated 6,000 people...
, the Opéra de Monte-Carlo
Opéra de Monte-Carlo
The Opéra de Monte-Carlo is an opera house located in the principality of Monaco.With the lack of cultural diversions available in Monaco in the 1870s, Prince Charles III, along with the Société des Bains de Mer, decided on the construction of an opera house. Initially, it was Charles III's...
, and a portrayal of the title role in Benjamin Britten
Benjamin Britten
Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten, OM CH was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He showed talent from an early age, and first came to public attention with the a cappella choral work A Boy Was Born in 1934. With the premiere of his opera Peter Grimes in 1945, he leapt to...
's Albert Herring
Albert Herring
Albert Herring, Op. 39, is a chamber opera in three acts by Benjamin Britten.Composed in the winter of 1946 and the spring of 1947, this comic opera was a successor to his serious opera The Rape of Lucretia...
at the Aldeburgh Festival
Aldeburgh Festival
The Aldeburgh Festival is an English arts festival devoted mainly to classical music. It takes place each June in the Aldeburgh area of Suffolk, centred on the main concert hall at Snape Maltings...
.
In his native country, Butterfield has sung as a soloist with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra
Toronto Symphony Orchestra
The Toronto Symphony Orchestra is a Canadian orchestra based in Toronto, Ontario.-History:The TSO was founded in 1922 as the New Symphony Orchestra, and gave its first concert at Massey Hall in April 1923. The orchestra changed its name to the Toronto Symphony Orchestra in 1927. The TSO...
, the Symphony Nova Scotia
Symphony Nova Scotia
Symphony Nova Scotia is a professional orchestra based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.Symphony Nova Scotia traces its origins back to several different orchestras, including the Halifax Symphony , the Halifax Sinfoniette , and the Atlantic Symphony Orchestra . Its current structure began in 1983...
, the Kingston Symphony
Kingston Symphony
The Kingston Symphony is a Canadian orchestra based in Kingston, Ontario. The orchestra was founded in 1953 under the name the New Symphony Association of Kingston. It was renamed the Kingston Symphony in 1963 with the formation of its new umbrella organization the Kingston Symphony Association...
, the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra
Edmonton Symphony Orchestra
As the professional orchestra of Alberta's creative capital city, the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra presents over 85 concerts a year of symphonic music in all genres, from classical to country...
, the National Arts Centre Orchestra
National Arts Centre Orchestra
The National Arts Centre Orchestra is an orchestra in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada's capital. It is a classically-sized ensemble currently conducted by Pinchas Zukerman.-Description:Since 1998, Pinchas Zukerman has been the Music Director. Mario Bernardi C.C...
, the Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra, the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra
Vancouver Symphony Orchestra
The Vancouver Symphony Orchestra is a Canadian orchestra performing in Vancouver, British Columbia. Over 240,000 people attend its live performances each year. It was founded in 1930 and plays in 12 venues. Its home is the Orpheum theatre. With an annual operating budget of $9.5 million, it is the...
, and the Victoria Symphony
Victoria Symphony
The Victoria Symphony is a Canadian orchestra based in Victoria, British Columbia. It is considered by some to be Vancouver Island's premiere active performing arts organization. Currently directed by Tania Miller - one of North America's first female musical directors - the staff consist of both...
. He has also worked with the Studio de musique ancienne de Montréal
Studio de musique ancienne de Montréal
The Studio de musique ancienne de Montréal is an early music vocal ensemble based in Montreal, Canada. Co-founded in 1974 by the organ and harpsichord players Christopher Jackson, Réjean Poirier, and Hélène Dugal, the group became an important part of the Early Music Revival in Montreal during the...
on a number of occasions. In 2007 he notably replaced an ailing Ben Heppner
Ben Heppner
Ben Heppner, CC is a Canadian tenor, specializing in opera and other classical works for voice.Heppner was born in Murrayville, British Columbia, and lived in Dawson Creek...
at the last minute as the tenor soloist in Edward Elgar
Edward Elgar
Sir Edward William Elgar, 1st Baronet OM, GCVO was an English composer, many of whose works have entered the British and international classical concert repertoire. Among his best-known compositions are orchestral works including the Enigma Variations, the Pomp and Circumstance Marches, concertos...
's The Dream of Gerontius
The Dream of Gerontius
The Dream of Gerontius, popularly called just Gerontius, is a work for voices and orchestra in two parts composed by Edward Elgar in 1900, to text from the poem by John Henry Newman. It relates the journey of a pious man's soul from his deathbed to his judgment before God and settling into Purgatory...
with the Vancouver Symphony.
In the United States Butterfield has performed with orchestras and choruses in Atlanta, Boston, Cleveland, Denver, New York City, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington D.C. In Europe he has performed in concert in numerous places, including the Concertgebouw
Concertgebouw
The Concertgebouw is a concert hall in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The Dutch term "concertgebouw" literally translates into English as "concert building"...
in Amsterdam, the Palais des Beaux Arts in Brussels, the Barbican Centre
Barbican Centre
The Barbican Centre is the largest performing arts centre in Europe. Located in the City of London, England, the Centre hosts classical and contemporary music concerts, theatre performances, film screenings and art exhibitions. It also houses a library, three restaurants, and a conservatory...
in London, the Musikverein in Vienna, and the Grosses Festspielhaus in Salzburg. In Asia he has sung in Japan and China, notably appearing as the tenor soloist in an internationally broadcast production of Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and violinist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity...
's Mass in B Minor from Suntory Hall
Suntory Hall
The Suntory Hall is a concert hall complex consisting of the "Main Hall" and the "Small Hall" located in the Ark Hills complex, near the U.S. Embassy and TV Asahi in the Akasaka district of northern Minato, a ward in Tokyo, Japan...
in Tokyo. He has performed under the batons of such conductors as Steuart Bedford
Steuart Bedford
Steuart John Rudolf Bedford is a British orchestral and opera conductor. He is the brother of composer David Bedford and a grandson of Liza Lehmann....
, Jane Glover
Jane Glover
Jane Glover CBE is a British-born conductor and music scholar.-Early life:Glover attended Haberdashers' Monmouth School for Girls. Her father, Robert Finlay Glover MA TD,was headmaster of Monmouth School and it was through this connection that she was able to meet Benjamin Britten and Peter Pears...
, Christopher Hogwood
Christopher Hogwood
Christopher Jarvis Haley Hogwood CBE, MA , HonMusD , born 10 September 1941, Nottingham, is an English conductor, harpsichordist, writer and musicologist, well known as the founder of the Academy of Ancient Music.-Biography:...
, Jeanne Lamon
Jeanne Lamon
Jeanne Lamon , violinist and conductor, born in New York, was raised in New York state, and began studying the violin at the age of seven. She studied violin at the Westchester Conservatory of Music with Editha Braham...
, and Nicholas McGegan
Nicholas McGegan
Nicholas McGegan OBE is a British harpsichordist, flautist, conductor and early music expert....
.
Conducting career
In addition to maintaining his singing career, Butterfield has worked as a professional conductor since the early 1990s, beginning with various groups in England. From 1991–1999 he served as the associate conductor of I Solisti Madrigale in Florence. After having lived in England for ten years, he moved back to the West Coast of Canada in 2001 where he was Music Director of the Vancouver Cantata SingersVancouver Cantata Singers
The Vancouver Cantata Singers is a semi-professional Canadian choir located in Vancouver, British Columbia. Founded in 1959 by organist and conductor Hugh McLean, VCS began its life as a non-auditioned community chorus...
and in 2003, he established the chamber choir VancouverVoices. In 2007 he went on to establish VancouverVoices youth choir for singers 10–18 years. In April 2009 he succeeded Simon Capet
Simon Capet
Simon Capet is an English conductor and filmmaker. He notably founded the Victoria Philharmonic Choir in 2005 and the Euphonia Music Festival in 2006...
as the director of the Victoria Philharmonic Choir
Victoria Philharmonic Choir
The Victoria Philharmonic Choir is a 60-voice auditioned choir based inVictoria, British Columbia. Conducted by Peter Butterfield, the choir performs a wide range of a cappella and accompanied music, and complements the nationally known Victoria Symphony and Pacific Opera VictoriaAn international...
.
Recordings
Butterfield has recorded three massMass (music)
The Mass, a form of sacred musical composition, is a choral composition that sets the invariable portions of the Eucharistic liturgy to music...
es by Joseph Haydn
Joseph Haydn
Franz Joseph Haydn , known as Joseph Haydn , was an Austrian composer, one of the most prolific and prominent composers of the Classical period. He is often called the "Father of the Symphony" and "Father of the String Quartet" because of his important contributions to these forms...
with Sir John Eliot Gardiner for Philips Classics Records
Philips Classics Records
Philips Classics Records was started in the 1980s as the new classics record label for Philips Records. It was successful with artists including Alfred Brendel, Sir John Eliot Gardiner, Sir Neville Marriner and the Academy of St...
where he appears as the tenor soloist. One of those recordings was named "recording of the month" by Gramophone in January 2003. His other recordings as a soloist include the Monyeverdi and the Sixth Book of Madrigals on the Nuova Era label, two recordings with the Winchester Cathedral Choir
Winchester Cathedral Choir
The Winchester Cathedral Choir is an internationally recognized professional choir based at the Winchester Cathedral at Winchester in Hampshire. The choir currently consists of 18 boy choristers and 12 lay clerks and sings eight services weekly in the Cathedral. Sometimes the group augments their...
and conductor David Hill
David Hill (choral director)
David Hill , is a choral conductor and organist. His most high profile roles are as Chief Conductor of the BBC Singers from September 2007, and Musical Director of The Bach Choir from April 1998. He was previously Organist and Director of Music at St John's College, Cambridge, in succession to...
for Decca Records
Decca Records
Decca Records began as a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934; however, owing to World War II, the link with the British company was broken for several decades....
, and Sergei Rachmaninoff
Sergei Rachmaninoff
Sergei Vasilievich Rachmaninoff was a Russian composer, pianist, and conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one of the last great representatives of Romanticism in Russian classical music...
's All-Night Vigil with David Hill and The Philharmonia Chorus for Nimbus Records
Nimbus Records
Nimbus Records is a British record company specializing in classical music recordings.Nimbus was founded in 1972 by the late bass singer Numa Labinsky and the brothers Michael and Gerald Reynolds and has traditionally been based at the Wyastone Leys mansion site, near Monmouth and the English/Welsh...
.