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Nigel Short

b. 1965

British conductor, choir director and singer

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About Nigel Short

Born 1965. Nigel Short is a British conductor, choir director, singer and musician.

Nigel Short is a British singer who is the founder and artistic director of the choir Tenebrae and Tenebrae Consort. He was previously a member of The King's Singers. He then studied singing and piano at the Royal College of Music before singing as a countertenor with a number of ensembles including The Tallis Scholars, Westminster Abbey and Westminster Cathedral choirs and The King's Consort. He then pursued a solo career in opera and oratorio, singing several roles in opera productions in Europe and for the English National Opera and Opera North.

In 1993 Short, then aged 27, joined The King's Singers. It was while performing with this ensemble that Short conceived of creating a larger group of singers capable of more "passionate sounds" combined with "the precision of ensembles like The King's Singers", The choir has extensively toured to critical acclaim, He held this post until 2015.

Nigel Short is also a recording producer for Signum Records, producing the albums A Choral Christmas with the Rodolfus Choir conducted by Ralph Allwood and Invisible Stars with the Choral Scholars of University College Dublin conducted by Desmond Earley.

In 2021 Short and Tenebrae worked with the Self-Isolation Choir on Thomas Tallis's 40-part Spem in alium. The Tenebrae singers recorded each of the 40 parts, and Short conducted 40 rehearsals of 90 minutes, broadcast live on Youtube and available for choir members to watch again, in July and August. Choir members were invited to contribute recordings of their own contributions, to be edited into a performance to be broadcast in October 2021. The score used was that prepared by Hugh Keyte in 2020 for the Thomas Tallis Society.

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Important facts

Born
1965
Birth century
Nationality

People in Nigel Short's life

Named in this biography and alive at the same time

Contemporaries

People whose lives overlapped Nigel Short's

Frequently asked questions

Who is Nigel Short?

British conductor, choir director and singer

When was Nigel Short born?

Nigel Short was born in 1965.

What is Nigel Short's occupation?

Nigel Short is a conductor, choir director, singer and musician.

What nationality is Nigel Short?

Nigel Short is British.

Sources & further reading

· Wikipedia: Nigel Short

· Wikidata: Q17059055

· DBpedia: Nigel Short (singer)

Cite this page

APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Nigel Short. https://biography.guide/nigel-short-conductor/

MLA: "Nigel Short." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/nigel-short-conductor/.

Chicago: "Nigel Short." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/nigel-short-conductor/.

Data last updated: 2026-09-20 · Spot an error? Report a correction.

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