John Pickard

Composer John Pickard has written music in conventional forms, including symphony, string quartet, and tone poem, but he does not fit neatly into the neo-Romantic camp or any other one for that matter. His music is dense, highly expressive, extended in tonality but not atonal, and brilliantly orchestrated. Pickard is the conductor of the University of Bristol Symphony Orchestra, and he has also been active as a musicologist, serving as general editor of a complete edition of the music of Edward Elgar. Pickard's orchestral music has been commissioned and premiered by high-profile organizations in Britain. In 2022, Pickard's Mass for Troubled Times was recorded by the BBC Singers under conductor Martyn Brabbins and released the following year.