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Born in London, and educated in Somerset and at Cambridge University, John Powell has spent much of his life in Manchester. His musical activities have always centred around choirs and singers and he devotes his time to conducting, singing and teaching. Until 1988 he was Head of Choral Music at Chetham’s School of Music. He now teaches privately and at Bolton School as well as being a tutor with the National Youth Choir.
John was for fifteen years Director of the Bolton Chamber Choir as well as a frequent Guest Conductor with Fleetwood Choral Society. His own chamber choir, the John Powell Singers, has a busy schedule of concerts and services and frequently broadcasts on BBC Radio. The choir regularly undertakes foreign concert tours: recent destinations include Estonia and Poland. John also directs choral workshops and conducts Bolton Festival Choir. In 2000 he was responsible for training some 300 singers from the North West for a performance of Mahler’s Eighth Symphony at the Bridgewater Hall; more recently he has trained choirs for David Fanshawe's African Sanctus and William Walton's Henry V.
A member of the BBC Northern Singers since 1975, and a founder-member of the Britten Singers, John has sung on Radio, TV and disc, and at the Proms, Aldeburgh and Harrogate Festivals as well as touring extensively abroad. He currently sings with the BBC Daily Service Singers.
John performs in recitals and oratorio, appearing with choral societies throughout the north of England. He has twice sung in the prestigious Manchester MidDay Concerts series, on each occasion giving first performances of new works. His repertoire is wide-ranging, from Monteverdi to the present day, and includes several rarities like Nielsen's Third Symphony which he recently sang at St. John's, Smith Square, and Michael Ball's Pageant, of which he gave the London premiere at the Royal Festival Hall.
John has a strong commitment to contemporary music and has been involved (both as singer and conductor) in numerous commissions. He also greatly enjoys exploring more unusual works: recent performances include the title roles in Dyson's Nebuchadnezzar and Elgar's Caractacus.
Writing music for choirs is a growing part of John’s musical activities – several of his folksong arrangements for chamber choirs have recently been published.
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