Paul Ayres

Paul studied music at Oxford University, and now works freelance as a composer & arranger, choral conductor & musical director, and organist & accompanist. He was born and bred in west London - where he still lives (with one wife, three children, one dog, an indeterminate number of cats, and two dozen boxes of music, paperwork, letters, books and CDs, which have been on the verge of being "really sorted through, maybe next week" since 2006).

His works have been awarded prizes in composition competitions in Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, New Zealand, Russia, Spain, Switzerland, the UK and the USA, and he has received over one hundred commissions from musical groups of all shapes and sizes. Most of Paul's output is choral, vocal, small-scale instrumental, and music for theatre. He genuinely finds as much joy in writing a very simple arrangement of, say, a nursery rhyme for beginner violinists as in constructing a large-scale score for professional performers. A particular creative interest of Paul's is exploring the interplay between popular styles and baroque/classical forms, and his works frequently use cross-reference, numerical patterns, and humour.

Paul conducts and accompanies many choirs in the London area. As an organist he has given recitals on several tours to Europe and North America, and has released three solo CDs: Passacaglia, Handel-Inspired, and Rainbow Toccatas. He enjoys leading music workshops with children, playing keyboards for improvised comedy shows, and devising cryptic crosswords. Please visit www.paulayres.co.uk to find out more.