Ben Parry

Ben Parry (born 25 January 1965) is a British musician, composer, conductor, singer, arranger and producer. He is the director of London Voices and was formerly artistic director of the National Youth Choir.

Early life Ben was born and raised in Ipswich, Suffolk, England, With the group, he toured the world and worked with musicians including Pierre Boulez, Luciano Berio and Stephane Grapelli. He wrote over 50 arrangements and compositions for the group and co-produced their recordings for EMI and Virgin Classics.

In 1994, Parry was in the original London production of Cy Coleman's City of Angels at the Prince of Wales Theatre in the West End. In 1995, he and his family moved to Scotland. There, he co-founded the distinguished vocal ensemble, Dunedin Consort, and directed performances at festivals in the UK, Spain, Belgium, France and Canada. He was chorusmaster of the Scottish Chamber Orchestra Chorus and director of choral music at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama (now the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland) in Glasgow. He directed five productions for Haddo House Opera.

From 2003 to 2008, Parry was director of music at St Paul's School, London. He subsequently moved to Suffolk and took up the post of director at the Junior Academy at the Royal Academy of Music in London, combined with his freelance career. He is director of the professional choir, London Voices, who have been at the forefront of choral singing in the UK since their foundation by conductor Terry Edwards in 1973. The choir has performed on the soundtracks of major films, including "The Hobbit", The Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, the Harry Potter series, Spectre, Aladdin and Jurassic World. The choir has performed and recorded with major artists, including Paul McCartney, Sting (musician), Sam Smith, Gary Barlow, Jacob Collier, Florence Welch, Dave Brubeck, Bryn Terfel, Angela Gheorghiu and Renée Fleming.

He was assistant director of music at King's College, Cambridge from 2013 to 2021, in which role he directed King's Voices.

Parry has composed a significant amount of choral music, published by Faber, OUP and Edition Peters. He collaborates regularly with author and lyricist Garth Bardsley, and together they have had works premiered by the BBC Singers, Sheffield Cathedral, Aldeburgh Voices, BBC Singers, St Andrew's University, Chelmsford Cathedral, National Youth Choirs of Great Britain and London Voices. They are currently developing a new theatre piece for baritone and instrumental ensemble.

As a conductor, Parry has worked with the Academy of Ancient Music, Britten Sinfonia, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, English Chamber Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra, London Mozart Players, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, BBC Concert Orchestra, Royal Seville Symphony Orchestra, Scottish Ensemble, National Youth Orchestra of Wales, Cumbria Youth Orchestra and the Vancouver Youth Symphony. He has sung with the Taverner Consort, Gabrieli Consort, Schütz Choir of London and Tenebrae (choir).

In October 2012 Parry was appointed director of the National Youth Choir (NYCGB). Gabrieli Consort: Music for San Rocco (DG Archiv 1996) – singer Dunedin Consort: Copland/Barber In the Beginning (Linn 2000) – conductor Scottish Chamber Orchestra/Mackerras: Mozart Requiem (Linn 2003) – chorusmaster Paul McCartney: Ecce Cor Meum (EMI 2006) – chorusmaster Tenebrae: Prayers for Mankind (Signum 2010) – producer Coldplay: When I Need a Friend (Everyday Life) – conductor Ryan Gosling: I'm Just Ken (Barbie the Album) – choirmaster Dune: Part Two - choir conductor Project Hail Mary - choir conductor