Andrew Wilson-Dickson

Andrew Wilson-Dickson is a composer, pianist and conductor (as well as author, teacher and string-player). During his four years at Cambridge University he gained his music degree with first-class honours, followed by a high-level MA. he then went on to gain a D.Phil. in Composition at the University of York. During this time (late 60s) he studied piano with John Lill and organ with Nicholas Danby and Francis Jackson, at the same time holding the post of organ scholar at York Minster.

After some years as Lecturer at Leicester University, he moved to Wales and the Welsh College of Music and Drama (1984). Through this period he composed music, from chamber pieces through operas and orchestral scores. He has written for many performers and groups (see Wikipedia for more detail).

At the same time Andrew developed a passion for period music and its differences in technique and musical taste, then and now. This has not only informed his teaching but made him a valued continuo player on early keyboards. Alongside this, his composing has broadened into writing for period instruments, from chamber music (for viols and early strings) to more substantial pieces: Concerto Grosso (Greenhouse Effect) (2005) and concertos for recorder (2011), harpsichord (2012) and baroque flute (2008).

Andrew writes liturgical music for the Christian Church in a style vocally accessible to congregations while attempting to avoid adherence to a particular tradition. He has created responsorial settings to nearly 40 psalms, alongside hymns, cantatas and musicals. He has written 'The Story of Christian Music' (Oxford, 1992) which has been translated into more than a dozen languages.