| Country: | United Kingdom |
| Period: | Contemporary classical music |
Biography
David John Briggs (born November 1, 1962) is an English organist and composer. He started his career as a cathedral organist as Assistant Organist in Hereford Cathedral before becoming the organist of Truro and Gloucester Cathedrals. Heavily influenced by Jean Langlais and Pierre Cochereau, Briggs is regarded as one of the world's finest improvisors, and now works as a concert organist. Briggs is a composer of choral and organ music, and has also transcribed many orchestral works into versions for solo organ, and has also transcribed many of Cochereau's recorded improvisations.
David Briggs was educated at Solihull School. He was organ scholar at King's College, Cambridge from 1981-84. At the relatively early age of 17 he was awarded the Fellowship of the Royal College of Organists (FRCO). He was also sometime Principal Viola of the National Youth Orchestra.
Whilst at university, he toured Australia, New Zealand, Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany with the college choir. In 1983 he received the Countess of Munster Award to study Interpretation and Improvisation with Jean Langlais in Paris, with whom he furthered in his interest in the art of improvisation by his transcriptions of the recordings of the late Pierre Cochereau. Transcribing the remarkable improvisations from Cochereau's cassette recordings took eleven years. Briggs' subsequent performances and recordings of them earned him his initial acclaim. He was also the first British organist to win the Tournemire prize for improvisation at the St Albans International Organ Festival.
On leaving university, he was appointed as Assistant Organist at Hereford Cathedral where he also took over the directorship of Hereford Chamber Choir and Hereford String Orchestra.
He was appointed Organist and Master of the Choristers of Truro Cathedral in 1989, before moving to the similar post at Gloucester Cathedral in 1994. While at Gloucester he oversaw the rebuilding of the organ which included the installation of the "Divided Pedal". This allows the Pedal Board to be 'split', meaning the pedal stops sound on the lower section, the upper section can be set to reproduce the sound of any of the manuals. Briggs also oversaw the installation of this system on the Father Willis organ of Truro Cathedral in its rebuild in 1991. In May 2002,[1] Briggs left Gloucester to pursue a freelance career as a concert organist and composer, succeeded for a second time by Andrew Nethsingha.
Briggs is Organist Emeritus at Gloucester Cathedral, and gives regular masterclasses at the Royal Northern College of Music and Cambridge University. He has a busy schedule as a concert artist, composer and organ advisor. He resides in Boston, Massachusetts. He married his second wife, Margaret Nimocks, in 2004, adopting a daughter, Eloise,[2] and has two daughters from his previous marriage.[3]
He made his debut at the BBC Proms on 14 August 2010 as part of "Bach Day" playing pieces by J S Bach, some originally for organ, others in arrangements, including Briggs' own arrangement of the Orchestral Suite No. 3 in D major, BWV 1068.
Briggs became Artist in Residence at St James Cathedral, Toronto, Canada on 1 September 2012. David’s responsibilities will include giving celebrity recitals, playing regularly at services, composing liturgical music for the Cathedral, and working on the establishment of a vision for the music program including the design and installation of a new organ or organs and relevant acoustical enhancements.
