Christopher John Clifford - Artistic Director NZIEMF - Countertenor
Christopher's career in music has now spanned over sixty years. He studied singing with Mark Deller,
James Gaddarn, Paul Esswood, Ian Partridge and Erich Vietheer. Since receiving his B.Sc. Honours
degree in Chemistry (University of Kent, Canterbury, UK) and his Performer's Diploma (Trinity College
of Music, London) he has taken part in concerts, recitals and radio recordings in France, the UK,
the Netherlands, Germany and Hong Kong. Between engagements, he has assembled three Italian harpsichords. Christopher was chairman of The London Handel Society and was responsible for exporting a complete Handel opera production, Il pastor fido, from the Royal College of Music to Halle in Germany for their Handelfestspiele - this annual celebration of Handel's operas continues in London.
He specialises in baroque and earlier music and has edited a number of cantatas and songs from manuscript sources, increasing the countertenor
repertoire and giving many of these works their first performances in modern times.
Christopher has performed as soloist with The Rare Byrds (Shakespeare's songs and Purcell), The City Choir (Handel's Messiah in Dunedin)
and The Bay of Islands Singers (Handel's Messiah in Kerikeri). He gave two recitals with John Griffiths (lute) in Melbourne (Homage to John Dowland). Christopher gave a recital of Purcell's songs with George Chittenden (harpsichord) in Dunedin and also with Douglas Mews (harpsichord) in Wellington.
In September 2013 he gave a recital tour of New Zealand (Timaru, Christchurch, Dunedin, Wellington and Auckland), with John Griffiths, to
publicise NZIEMF 2014. In this month Christopher also presented his course Towards an Appreciation of Early Music in Europe pre-1760 for U3A in Dunedin.
He has collaborated with the Dunedin Public Library on their music exhibitions Plainsong to Pergolesi: A Timeline of Early Music (February 2014), Marvels of the Renaissance (February 2015), and Baroque Music Rocks (February 2016).
Christopher has completed his third NZIEMF as Artistic Director.
He lives with his wife Lisa and cat Milo, in a converted church in Seacliff, Otago, New Zealand.
You can hear a recording from a live recital in Wellington of 'Tis Nature's voice by Henry Purcell:
Click on: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cj4n7_uHKBg
1 February 2022