Edward Higginbottom receives Musicians’ Company Choral Director’s Lifetime Achievement Award

The Musicians’ Company has awarded its Choral Director’s Lifetime Achievement Award to Professor Edward Higginbottom. The sixth recipient of this relatively new award, Higginbottom was awarded the honour in recognition of 35 years of ‘pioneering work’ as organist, fellow and tutor at New College Oxford.

Higginbottom joins a legacy of previous winners including Stephen Cleobury, Harry Christophers, Christopher Robinson, Andrew Carwood and James O’Donnell. He adds this latest award to previous accolades including the Gold Medal of the Royal College of Organists and Honorary Membership of the Royal Academy of Music. He is also the only person to hold the title of Professor of Choral Music with University of Oxford.

He said: ‘It was a very special honour for me to receive a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Worshipful Company of Musicians, and immensely encouraging to know that choral direction has a place in their pantheon.’

During his time at New College, Higginbottom was responsible for the growth of the college choir. The choir under Higginbottom’s direction toured the world and made or appeared on over 120 CDs, engaging with a wide range of repertoire. Many recording projects involved previously unrecorded music and brought Grammy nominations and Gramophone Awards. As well as managing the choral life of Higginbottom also taught at Oxford University and spent time as chair of the Music Faculty of the University of Oxford and of its Board.