Graham Walker
Graham Walker is equally active as a conductor and cellist. He directs several ensembles at Cambridge University and is a member of two innovative chamber ensembles.
Walker was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1978. He took cello and piano lessons from an early age and sang in the Choir of St. John's College, Cambridge, as a boy chorister. In 1991, he earned a music scholarship to the Harrow School near London, studying cello, piano, and organ. In 1995, he performed Schumann's Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 54, and Elgar's Cello Concerto in E minor, Op. 85. Walker attended St. John's, entering as a choral scholar (a singer who performs at university musical events in return for scholarship support) but studying mathematics, experiencing choral singing as a valuable break from his rigorous studies. He continued to perform on the cello as well. At St. John's, Walker began to develop his abilities as a conductor, leading performances of Bach's Mass in B minor, BWV 232, and of requiem masses by Fauré and Duruflé. In 1997, although he had no experience with Latin American vernacular music, he co-founded and began to perform with the ensemble Classico Latino, which fuses classical music and Latin American genres; he also wrote arrangements for the group and has continued to perform in Classico Latino as of the early 2020s, receiving an award on Colombian television for his work. In 1999, Walker enrolled on a scholarship at the Royal Academy of Music, studying cello and Baroque cello with Lionel Handy and Jennifer Ward Clarke, receiving his diploma in 2002. That year, he made his recording debut, leading the Men of St. Paul's Cathedral Choir on the Quilisma label on the album Nesciens Mater: Choral Works of Jean Mouton. Walker spent some years as a performer and part-time educator, also serving as director of music at Christ Church on the Isle of Dogs in London from 2003 to 2008.
In 2013, Walker became the director of St. John's Voices at Cambridge; he remained in that position as of 2023. Walker became the director of music at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge University, in 2014. In 2015, he co-founded the contemporary music chamber group Karolos, recording several albums of music by Stephen Dodgson with that group. Walker moved to Magdalen College, Cambridge, as director of music in 2016, remaining in that position until 2022. In September of that year, he became the director of music at Emmanuel College, Cambridge. Walker also teaches cello part-time at Cambridge. In 2020, as director of the Gentlemen of St. John's, Walker released the album William Mathias: Choral Music on the Naxos label. He returned in 2023 on Naxos, leading the elite Cambridge University Chamber Choir on an album of music by Pavel Chesnokov.
© James Manheim /TiVo
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Discography
8 album(s) • Sorted by Bestseller
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Chesnokov: Sacred Choral Music
Jessica Kinney, Cambridge University Chamber Choir, Graham Walker, Natalie Manning, Tom Butler, St. John's Voices
Choral Music (Choirs) - Released by Naxos on 12 May 2023
Gramophone Editor's Choice16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Nesciens Mater: Choral Works of Jean Moulton
Gentlemen of St. John's, Graham Walker
Choral Music (Choirs) - Released by Quilisma on 1 Jan 2002
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Dodgson: String Trios
Karolos, Harriet Mackenzie, Sarah-Jane Bradley, Graham Walker
Chamber Music - Released by Naxos on 13 Jul 2018
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Cats' Night Out
Children - Released by Tandem Music Group on 20 Jun 2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Jumpety Jump - Songs For Children
Children - Released by Tandem Music Group on 20 Jun 2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Isle Of Man TT Race Of 1958
Humour/Spoken Word - Released by Saland Investments on 18 Jun 2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Fiddlesticks
Children - Released by Tandem Music Group on 20 Jun 2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Knobledee Knees
Children - Released by Tandem Music Group on 20 Jun 2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo