Biography
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Born
15 July 1941
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Born In
Hambleden, Buckinghamshire, England, United Kingdom
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Died
21 September 2010 (aged 69)
Burgon was born in Hampshire in 1941, and taught himself the trumpet in order to join a jazz band at school (Pewley Grammar School, Guildford). He entered the Guildhall School of Music and Drama with the intention of becoming a trumpet player. However, he found that he was more interested in composition. Burgon initially supported himself and his family as a freelance jazz trumpeter, until at the age of 30 he sold all his trumpets and devoted himself to composing.
The critical success of his Requiem at the Three Choirs Festival in 1976 sealed his reputation as a composer and led to many commissions from major organisations. Continuing the tradition established by Benjamin Britten, Burgon’s fluent and effortless language is particularly well suited to the voice and he has had a long-standing collaboration with counter-tenor James Bowman. Burgon has also had considerable success writing for film and television and has twice received both BAFTA and Ivor Novello Awards.
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