John Rutter explains how choral singing inspires him, and why he believes that everyone has a voice.

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John Rutter was born in London in 1945, received his first musical education as a chorister at Highgate School and went on to study music at Clare College, Cambridge. His compositional career has embraced large and small-scale choral works, orchestral and instrumental pieces, a piano concerto, two children’s operas, music for television, and specialist writing for such groups as the Philip Jones Brass Ensemble and the King’s Singers. In 1981, John Rutter formed the Cambridge Singers, a professional chamber choir primarily dedicated to recording. He now divides his time between composing and conducting and has guest-conducted amateur and professional choirs all round the world. Most of John Rutter’s music is published by Oxford University Press.

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Press Music: Deep River from Feel the Spirit, arranged by John Rutter. The Cambridge Singers and the BBC Concert Orchestra by courtesy of Collegium Records