Ronald Corp

Choral and orchestral conductor Ronald Corp focused on little-known works of the Romantic period but also commissioned contemporary works. He was also an Anglican priest and a composer whose works for children, especially, were quite well known. Corp amassed a large recording catalog as both conductor and composer, remaining active until late in life. He issued a recording of John Tavener's Palintropos in 2020. Corp was born on January 4, 1951, in Wells, Somerset, in South West England. He began composing music while he was still very young, beginning to write down his pieces after he started taking piano lessons. Corp attended Oxford University, studying music. He founded the New London Orchestra in 1988 and, with that, began his career as a conductor. Around that time, he began receiving commissions for his own music, including one from the Highgate Choral Society in 1989; he responded with the large orchestral cantata And All the Trumpets Sounded. Corp founded the New London Children's Choir in 1991 with the aim of exposing children to the performance of many types of music. The group performed music by various composers, including Corp. In addition to his own groups, Corp was in demand for appearances with other groups both in Britain and beyond. He served as guest conductor with the BBC Concert Orchestra, the Ulster Orchestra, the Leipzig Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Brussels Radio and Television Orchestra, among other groups. His large choral works also found performances; the London Choral Society performed his cantata Laudamus in 1994, and the substantial choral work Cornucopia (1997) was performed several times. He wrote some instrumental music, including a piano concerto (1997), three string quartets, and a Symphony No. 1 (2009). Corp attended the Southern Theological Education and Training Scheme in Salisbury, England, and was ordained in the Church of England as a deacon in 1998 and as a priest the following year. He served as minister of several London churches. Corp also composed settings of Buddhist texts, including the Dhammapada for eight solo singers (2010), which included the sounds of bells rung at sacred Buddhist temples. He wrote several operas for children. Corp remained conductor of the New London Orchestra and the New London Children's Choir until his death in London on May 7, 2025. He was the author of a book, The Choral Singer's Companion. ~ James Manheim, Rovi