Howard Goodall facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Howard Goodall
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Howard Lindsay Goodall |
| Born | 26 May 1958 Bromley, Kent, England |
| Occupation(s) | Composer, presenter for television and radio (Classic FM - "Composer-in-Residence") |
| Years active | 1979–present |
Howard Lindsay Goodall, born on May 26, 1958, is a famous English composer. He writes music for many different things, like musicals, choral music (music for choirs), and even music for your favorite TV shows! He's also a popular TV and radio presenter, sharing his love for music with everyone. He has won many awards for his work. In 2009, he was even named "Composer of the Year" at the Classic BRIT Awards.
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About His Life
Howard Goodall was born in Bromley, Kent. He went to New College School and sang in the choir there. Later, he studied music at Christ Church, Oxford, where he earned a top degree.
He is married to Val Fancourt, who works with classical musicians. They have two daughters together.
His Music and Shows
Early Music
In the late 1970s, Howard Goodall was part of a band called Half Brother. They released an album called Half Brother in 1978.
Musicals for the Stage
Howard Goodall has written many musicals. His 1984 musical, The Hired Man, is based on a book by Melvyn Bragg. It won an Ivor Novello award in 1985 and a TMA Award in 2006 for Best Musical.
Another musical, A Winter's Tale (now called A Summer's Tale), was first performed when the Sage Gateshead opened in 2005. In 2011, its London show won an Off West End award for Best New Musical.
Love Story, based on a popular book, first showed in 2010. He also worked with Gurinder Chadha on Bend It Like Beckham: The Musical, which started in London in 2015.
Other musicals he wrote include Girlfriends (1986), Days of Hope (1991), Silas Marner (1993), The Kissing-Dance (1998), and The Dreaming (2001).
Music for Television
You've probably heard Howard Goodall's music without even knowing it! He wrote the main theme songs and other music for many popular UK comedy shows. These include Red Dwarf, Blackadder, Mr. Bean, The Thin Blue Line, and The Vicar of Dibley. He also composed for The Catherine Tate Show, 2point4 Children, and QI. A song from Red Dwarf, "Tongue Tied", even reached number 17 on the UK music charts!
He met actor Rowan Atkinson (who plays Mr. Bean) and writer Richard Curtis (who wrote The Vicar of Dibley) when he was at Oxford University. They worked together on many of these TV projects.
Choral Music
Howard Goodall has written a lot of music for choirs. Some of his well-known pieces include "In Memoriam Anne Frank" (2001) and "O Lord God of Time and Eternity" (2003). He also set Psalm 23 to music, which became the theme song for The Vicar of Dibley.
In 2008, his major work Eternal Light: A Requiem was first performed. It's a piece for choir, orchestra, and dance. This work has been performed over 700 times around the world!
In 2009, Classic FM released Howard Goodall's Enchanted Voices. This album explored old chant music in a new way and became the best-selling choral CD of 2009. He also released Howard Goodall's Enchanted Carols and Pelican in the Wilderness.
He wrote a special piece called A New Heart, A New Spirit for Truro Cathedral. It uses words from the Bible in four languages: English, Latin, French, and Cornish.
In 2011, his oratorio (a large musical work for voices and orchestra) called Every Purpose Under the Heaven was performed at Westminster Abbey. It celebrated the 400th anniversary of the King James Bible.
Howard Goodall also helped with the music for the opening ceremony of the 2012 London Olympics. He arranged songs for the First World War commemoration in Belgium in 2014, bringing together British and German soldiers' songs.
His piece Steadfast (2014) helped raise money for a charity that supports disadvantaged children in the UK. He also wrote More Tomorrows for Cancer Research UK in 2013.
More recently, he composed Invictus: A Passion (2018) and Unconditional Love: A Cantata of Gratitude and Remembrance (2021), which reflected on the Covid-19 pandemic.
Presenting Music Shows
Besides composing, Howard Goodall is a well-known TV and radio presenter. He hosted the BBC's Choir of the Year and Young Musician of the Year. He was also the "Composer-in-Residence" and host of Saturday Night at the Movies for Classic FM radio for six years.
He has presented many award-winning TV series that teach about music history and theory. These include:
- Howard Goodall's Organworks (1996) – about the history of the organ.
- Howard Goodall's Choirworks (1998) – about the history of choral music.
- Howard Goodall's Big Bangs (2000) – about important moments in music history.
- Howard Goodall's Great Dates (2002) – about key dates in music history.
- Howard Goodall's 20th Century Greats (2004) – exploring how classical and popular music changed in the 20th century.
- Howard Goodall's How Music Works (2006) – looking at how music is put together.
- The Truth About Christmas Carols (2008) – exploring the surprising history of Christmas carols.
- Hallelujah! The Story of Handel's Messiah (2010) – celebrating Handel's famous "Messiah".
He also presented Howard Goodall's The Story of Music (2013) on BBC2, which traced music from ancient times to today. In 2017, he presented Sgt. Pepper's Musical Revolution, about the Beatles' famous album.
Howard Goodall has also been a musical expert for museum exhibitions, including David Bowie Is and Pink Floyd: Their Mortal Remains.
Awards and Recognition
Howard Goodall has received many honors for his contributions to music and music education. He has been given special Doctorates of Music from several universities. The British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors (BASCA) gave him an award for his amazing support of other British composers.
In 2007, he received the Making Music/Sir Charles Groves Prize for his outstanding work in British Music. The UK Government also appointed him as England's first National Ambassador for Singing. In this role, he led a four-year program called "Sing Up" to help more primary school children learn to sing in groups.
In 2009, he won "Composer of the Year" at The Classical BRITs for his work Eternal Light: A Requiem. He also won an Emmy Award for his music in the film Into the Storm, which was about Winston Churchill.
In January 2011, he was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) by the Queen. This is a very high honor given for great service to music education.
