Christopher Bochmann

Christopher Consitt Bochmann (born November 8, 1950) is a British-born composer, conductor, music teacher, arranger and orchestrator who has lived and worked in Portugal since 1980. Known for composition, teaching and conducting, he is Professor Emeritus of the University of Évora in Portugal, from which he retired in 2020.

Early years and studies

Bochmann was born in 1950 in Chipping Norton, West Oxfordshire, United Kingdom. As a child, he sang in the choir of St.George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle.

At age 16, he studied with French musician and teacher Nadia Boulanger in Paris before attending the University of Oxford, New College, where he studied with conductor and choirmaster David Lumsden, composer and pianist Kenneth Leighton, and composer, pianist and music scholar Robert Sherlaw Johnson.

His works cross multiple genres, with a detailed overview provided on his website. Compositions include: 4 String Quartets 4 Wind Quintets 21 essays for solo instruments 7 Canzonas for various ensembles 11 Letters to composer friends for piano Lament (2001) Symphony (2005) Cicero Dixit (2006) Opera: Corpo e Alma (2008) Um leve tremor (2019) Concerto for orchestra (2019) Opera: Astrolabe (2022) Essay VIII – recording here Tertúlia – recording here Graffiti (2023)

His work and approach were described in 2022 by Ana Telles (Universidadede Évora/Centre for Studies of Musical Sociology and Aesthetics CESEM):"[his] pianistic language is based on a fairly conventional instrumental technique, inherited from the 19th century pianistic tradition, yet encompassing characteristic features developed by authors associated with the 2nd Viennese School and post-serialism, as well as significant experiences in the fields of free forms and aleatoric music." Examples of his work on YouTube include: Em Homenagem (1984), Sinfonia (2005), Canzona III (2010), Talking of Jasmine (2018), and Essay XXI (2021).

Many of Bochmann's scores are published by and are available for download from the Portuguese Music Research & Information Centre (MIC.PT).

Recent work The Portuguese Music Research & Information Centre reported that Wandering from clime to clime (2023) is a new work by Bochmann for accordion and chamber orchestra. Its world premiere was on 3 June 2023 at the Teatro das Figuras in Faro, Portugal, with the concert performed by the Algarve Orchestra conducted by Bochmann, and with the participation of accordionist Gonçalo Pescada. Bochmann writes in the programme notes:"The work’s title is a quotation from Homer’s Odyssey, translated by Alexander Pope. It reflects on the music’s journey to integrate an instrument often associated with popular music, dance, or even the Paris Metro! – into the world of classical, contemporary music."

Conducting As a conductor, Bochmann has been active in contemporary music and primarily youth orchestras and choirs. Bochmann conducting in 2021He has frequently conducted the Grupo de Música Contemporânea de Lisboa/Contemporary Music Group of Lisbon (GMCL) with whom he has recorded various works on CD. In 2010, the GMCL dedicated a concert to his music as a 60th birthday tribute.

In February 2023, Portuguese national public radio Antena 2 broadcast the 2021 Homenagem a Christopher Bochmann concert that he conducted to mark his association with the Orquestra Sinfónica Juvenil. The concert, recorded in the Sala Luis Miguel Cintra at Teatro São Luiz on 31 October 2021, included his work Aphorisms (eleven miniatures for small orchestra).

Teaching

Bochmann has taught in various schools in Britain including Cranborne Chase School and Yehudi Menuhin School, and in Brazil (Escola de Música de Brasília). He has also taught in music schools in Lisbon including the Instituto Gregoriano de Lisboa and the Conservatório Nacional. From 1984 to 2006, he worked at the Escola Superior de Música de Lisboa, of which he was Director for six years and Head of Composition for sixteen. From 2006, he was Head of the Music Department of the University of Évora, and Dean of the School of the Arts.

In 2009 he was elected as an Associate Member of the Academia Nacional de Belas Artes.

In 2023, President Marcelo of Portugal decorated Bochmann as a Commander of the Order of Prince Henry , recognizing more than 40 years spent teaching and performing music in Portugal.

Publications Bochmann's books include A Linguagem Harmónica do Tonalismo (2003, Juventude Musical Portuguesa) and A Linguagem Harmónica do Tonalismo – Análises e Exercícios (2006, Juventude Musical Portuguesa).

A PDF dossier on Bochmann is available from the Portuguese Music Research & Information Centre Dossier n.º 6. Compositores Portugueses dos séculos XX e XXI . Christopher Bochmann

Personal life

Bochmann is the son of cellists Martin and Beatrice Bochmann, and brother to the violinist Michael Bochmann. As a child, he lived in Germany and Turkey before moving to England in 1960.

He has been married to the actress Celia Williams since 1977 and has two daughters, Alexandra (born 1985) and Elizabeth (born 1989).