‘Master of the Bench’: Christopher Bowers-Broadbent at 80
Christopher Bowers-Broadbent in conversation with Tom Winpenny
Christopher Bowers-Broadbent celebrated his eightieth birthday in January. He has forged a career as an organist and composer, distinctively combining church, synagogue and teaching roles, and particularly championing contemporary music. Having been Organist and Choirmaster at the Honourable Society of Grays Inn, London since 1983, he was recently made an Honorary Master of the Bench. His extensive discography includes many albums ECM records, including a long-running and fruitful partnership with the Hilliard Ensemble and Estonian composer Arvo Pärt.
Born in Hertfordshire, Bowers-Broadbent became a chorister at King’s College Cambridge under Boris Ord. His time briefly overlapped with the start of David Willcocks’ tenure, but he recalls, ‘My voice broke very early – about 12 and a half. It would have been my turn to sing Once in royal, but suddenly, in the middle of November I couldn’t sing a note – devastated!’ He remembers Ord’s music-making with fondness: ‘He usually accompanied the psalms when I was first there, but mostly conducted, and he was wonderful with Tudor music.’
