abcd is delighted to announce that the composer and conductor John Rutter CBE has accepted its invitation to be its new President. John succeeds Sir David Willcocks, the Association's only President to date, who died in September 2015. John is a founder member of abcd and remains actively involved in its activities, despite his busy schedule. He most recently led a Come and Sing afternoon in the Royal Northern College of Music Concert Hall as part of abcd's 31st Annual Convention in August.
abcd Chair Leslie East commented:
"John Rutter was the unanimous choice of the abcd Council to succeed Sir David Willcocks as President of the organisation and we are deeply honoured that John should be prepared to accept the position. It is not simply that John is one of the UK's foremost choral composers, but also that he has involved himself with great enthusiasm in the work of abcd ever since he helped form and set up the Association, that made him the logical choice to follow one of his mentors and heroes. The Trustees and Council members look forward to many years of collaboration with our new President!"
John Rutter commented:
"I'm delighted and honoured to be asked to succeed Sir David Willcocks as President of abcd; he was a leader among us, and we all miss him. The organisation of which he was the first and until now the only President embodies the thriving and multi-faceted choral tradition in Britain - a tradition of which we can all be proud - but David never believed in resting on our laurels, and abcd will, I am sure, remain committed to inspiring new generations of choir directors to greater heights. abcd is a practical organisation, offering valuable hands-on training to choir directors, but it is visionary too, never losing sight of the mountain peaks of choral music which point us all upwards. As abcd moves forward to face new opportunities and challenges in a changing world, I look forward to being part of it."
Posted: Wed 23rd December 2015