Anthony Whittaker

Who is Anthony Whittaker?

Anthony John Whittaker is an English composer. His first musical experiences were in the local church choir age 7 and as a tenor recorder player; he did not begin formal study of the piano until 1982 with Peter Wild. Lessons with Ann Bond on the organ followed in 1986. After acquiring the LRAM diploma in 1989, ARCO and LTCL in 1991, he graduated from the University of London in 1994 BMus.

Composition became increasingly important for Whittaker during the 1990s where he composed for staff and students at the Performing Arts department of Liverpool Community College. His MMus degree from the University of Liverpool is in composition; he studied with James Wishart.

Notoriety came in 2000 with the SPNM performance of Drift for six pianos which was performed alongside Steve Reich's music for 6 pianos; the principal pianist was Joanna MacGregor.

Choral music became important after this time;Agnus Dei received performances in Berlin and Montreal. A Litany also for TTBB was performed at the International Eisteddfod and broadcast on S4C television in 2002. Larger commissions followed. For example, The Prodigal Son for choir 2 pianos and percussion 2005.

Chamber music has also played an important part in the composer's output. A string Quartet was written in 2005; Indiscretions with Sarabande was written for the Baroque ensemble L'indiscret in 2007. A second string quartet and the Clarinet Quintet were completed in 2009 during a long period in the Far East, Singapore and Taiwan. Whittaker's largest project to date is a choral suite with Genghis Khan as the main protagonist.