Steven Griffin is a Welsh composer and teacher who lives and works in Edinburgh, Scotland. His background is in choral music. Starting with the choir at St John’s Church, Troedyrhiw, where he was organist and choirmaster at the age of 16, he sang with the Afon Taf High School Choir, the Mid Glamorgan Youth Choir and the National Youth Choir of Wales. Steven went on to Magdalen College, Oxford, to read Music and he was also awarded an Academical Clerkship, the Magdalen equivalent of a choral scholarship.
Steven’s career as a musician is centred on education and he is the Assistant Director of Music at George Watson’s College in Edinburgh. His first compostions were for his choir of 11 to 13 year olds for whom he found it difficult to find music that was challenging yet accessible. Since then he has composed a wide variety of choral, chamber and orchestral pieces aimed at young performers.
In 2011 he composed The Lord Bless You and Keep You for the Kirking of the Master of the Merchant Company of the City of Edinburgh and, in 2012, was the winner of the inaugual Carol for Christmas Competition organised by renowned vocal ensemble The King’s Singers and Classic FM. His winning entry, A Hymn to the Virgin, was first performed by The King’s Singers and subsequently published by Novello.
Following this success, Steven’s choral compositions and arrangements have been programmed throughout the world with recent performances in Italy, Japan, New Zealand and the USA.
Steven’s music has been described as “alluring contemporary sounds” by The Scotsman newspaper and “quite superb” by the International Choral Bulletin.
You can follow Steven @mrgriffmusic