Gerard McChrystal & Christian Wilson
Biography Gerard McChrystal & Christian Wilson
Gerard McChrystal
was born in Derry, N. Ireland. He was the first student to graduate from the RNCM with three awards in 1986. He did postgrad at The Guildhall School, London. During his year in London he reached the final of the RTE Young Musician of the year for the second time, won The Lombard & Ulster £15,000 Foundation on RTE’s ‘The Late,Late Show with Gay Byrne’ as well as The Royal Overseas League, London, The Countess of Music Award, The Sir James Caird Travelling Awarded, Scotland, The Martin Music Award, The NFMS Award and appeared on the BBC’s ‘Opportunity Knocks’ with Bob Monkhouse. Gerard won a scholarship to study at Northwestern University, Chicago with Fred Hemke. He was awarded his masters degree in 1988.
His UK debut was with The Philharmonia premiering Dave Heath’s ‘Out of the Cool’ in 1989 at St John Smith’s Square. Also in 1989 he performed as soloist in the premiere of Shaun Davey’s ‘Relief of Derry Symphony’ with The Ulster Orchestra. This performance was also recorded for his first CD.
Gerard has performed in over 35 countries including China, USA, New Zealand, Korea, South Africa and Azerbaijan. His main ambition is to develop collaborations and encourage composers, especially from Ireland, to write for the saxophone. Collaborations include composer Philip Glass, The Soweto String Quartet, Rambert Dance Co., London Musici, The Smith Quartet, Classical guitarist Craig Ogden, vocal groups Anuna and Codetta, Saxophone quartets Saxtet and The Bros Quartet. As part of Bros Saxophone Quartet he has recorded and performed music by Salvatore Sciarrino in Milan. ‘Pagine’ by Sciarrino was released on Stradivarius Records in 2016.
Gerard’s was an ambassador for Derry-Londonderry UK City of Culture 2013 and performed in the opening and closing concerts with artists including Snow Patrol, The Undertones, Liam O’ Flynn, Dana and James Nesbitt.
Gerard has made 15 cds with orchestras including BBC NOW, Ulster Orchestra and London Musici. His saxophone series are published in London and Melbourne. Gerard is Professor of Saxophone at Trinity Laban Conservatoire, London and also teaches at RWCMD, Cardiff. He is a Vandoren Artist. Plans for 2020 include a tour to South East Asia, tour of Portugal and a performance in The Royal Naval Chapel, London with Claude Delangle, Professor of saxophone at The Paris Conservatoire. In April his latest cd will be released with organist Christian Wilson. The CD was recorded in The Royal Chapel, Tower of London and features music from Haydn, Handel, Vivaldi to Jehan Alain and Barbara Thompson.
Christian Wilson
is Director of Music at Brasenose College, Assistant Organist at Christ Church, Oxford and Organist of the Chapels Royal, HM Tower of London. A former head chorister at Westminster Abbey, he was later Sub-Organist at Perth Cathedral, Western Australia before taking up the Organ Scholarship at Christ Church Oxford. Christian remained in Oxford as a graduate student, researching the music and performance practices associated with the Lady Mass in late-medieval England. A further Masters in solo organ/harpsichord performance at Stuttgart’s Hochschule für Musik, initiated a freelance performing career as an organist and conductor taking Christian to numerous venues across five continents.
Recent engagements include concert tours to Russia and South Africa, and concerts in the Oundle Festival, Spitalfields Festival, Tarasp Castle Switzerland, Ulster Hall, St John’s Smith Square and St Martin’s Dudelange, Luxembourg. A recent CD of organ works of the Interwar Years (‘Commotio’) has been particularly well received. At home, he has performed as a soloist with various orchestras and ensembles, including Philharmonia, OAE, English Chamber Orchestra, Oxford Baroque, Locrian Ensemble, Orchestra Nova, and regularly performs as an accompanist and chamber musician, recently recording a CD of late romantic works with violist Sarah-Jane Bradley to great critical acclaim.
Christian directs an early music group (Utopia) founded at the site of Thomas More’s shrine at the Tower of London, and is a regular course tutor on the ‘Oundle for Organists’ Summer courses. Busy as an educator, he also directs RSCM courses from time to time, most recently in Johannesburg.
Future plans include concerts in the United States, Croatia, and Norway, and a recording of his own transcription of Shostakovich’s 24 Prelude and Fugues. Christian is currently editing the complete keyboard works of Walter Bricht – a tragically overlooked Austrian composer displaced at the Anschluss in 1938 just as his star was rising. Aside from classical music, his interests include rugby, wine, running, folk music and theology.
