About this Artist
THOMAS TROTTER is one of Britain's most widely admired musicians. The excellence of his musicianship is reflected internationally in his musical partnerships. He performs as a soloist with, among many others, the conductors Sir Simon Rattle, Bernard Haitink, Riccardo Chailly, and Sir Charles Mackerras. He has performed recitals in Berlin's Philharmonie, the Gewandhaus in Leipzig, both the Musikverein and the Konzerthaus in Vienna, and London's Royal Festival Hall. He has given the opening recital on new or restored organs in places such as Cleveland's Severance Hall (Ohio), Princeton University Chapel (New Jersey), the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, St. David's Hall in Cardiff, and most recently the Royal Albert Hall in London. He is regularly asked to perform on major historic instruments such as those at St. Ouen in Rouen, St. Bavo's in Haarlem (Netherlands), Weingarten Abbey in Germany, and Woolsey Hall at Yale University. He appears at the festivals of Salzburg, Berlin, Vienna, and Edinburgh, and London's BBC Proms, in addition to performing with leading orchestras such as the Vienna Philharmonic, the Berlin Philharmonic, the London Philharmonic, and Royal Philharmonic orchestras. In the U.S., he has appeared with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra. In May 2001 he was the recipient of the Royal Philharmonic Society award for Best Instrumentalist, the first organist to win this award. Past winners include András Schiff, Itzhak Perlman, and Julian Bream.
Trotter's career is firmly founded on his relationship with the City of Birmingham in England, where he was appointed City Organist in 1983 in succession to Sir George Thalben-Ball, and where he is now also Artistic Adviser and Resident Organist at Birmingham's Symphony Hall. In addition, Trotter is also Organist at St. Margaret's Church, Westminster Abbey in London and Visiting Professor of Organ at the Royal College of Music, also in London. Earlier in his career he was organ scholar at King's College, Cambridge and later continued his studies with Marie-Claire Alain in Paris, winning the Prix de Virtuosité in her class. He won First Prize at the St. Albans International Organ Competition in 1979 and made his debut in London's Royal Festival Hall the following year. He received an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Central England in 2003 and from Birmingham University in 2006.
Alongside his weekly recitals in Birmingham, Trotter regularly performs throughout the U.S. and Europe. He is an active recording artist, and of his several recordings, releases of Messiaen and Mozart have been named "Critic's Choice" by Gramophone magazine; he received a Grand Prix du Disque for his recording of music by Liszt in 1995. He was a consultant for the new Marcussen organ in Manchester's newly built Bridgewater Hall and also for the new organ in Birmingham at Symphony Hall. This performance marks his debut at Walt Disney Concert Hall. Other engagements in the 2007/08 season include performances at London's Royal Albert Hall and St. Paul's Cathedral (as part of the South Bank Messiaen series), a concert at the Lahti Organ Festival with the King's Singers, and tours to Germany, Hungary, Netherlands, and Russia.
10/07