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Today's Featured Composer:

Gordon Langford

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Gordon Langford was born in 1930 in Edgware, near London. He began piano lessons at 5 and showed an early interest in composition - being only 9 when one of his compositions was performed in public.

He was awarded a three-year scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music and studied piano, composition and trombone. Here, one of his works (a tone poem for orchestra) was chosen for public performance.

Gordon Langford served with the band of the Royal Artillery and during this period made his first broadcast as solo pianist. Following his army service, he was involved in many varied musical activities ranging from vibraphone player with a jazz group, trombone player with a touring opera company, restaurant pianist, ship's musician and pianist at a school of ballet.

Before long his work as composer/arranger and orchestrator had aroused favourable comment and many recording and broadcasting ensembles commissioned work from him and he became a frequent broadcaster in his own right as pianist and/or conductor. Several London theatre productions featured his work, and his contribution to the world of light music received recognition in the form of an Ivor Novello award in 1971.

The world renowned Kings's Singers have many of Gordon Langford's arrangements in their repertoire, and composers of film music of the calibre of John Williams, Henry Mancini, Jerry Goldsmith and Kenneth Wannberg have used him as their orchestrator.

Following the recording of his march `Merry Mancunians', a deep involvement in the world of Brass Bands began and there can now be few bands who have not heard of (or performed) his work. In 1980 the British Broadcasting Corporation invited him to compose two pieces to represent its entry for the European Broadcasting Union's competition for new music for band. His march `Leviathan' and `A Foxtrot Between Friends' won first prize in both categories.