John Sanders working with the Choristers of Gloucester Cathedral
The Sanders Society
The main aims of The Sanders Society are:
- Promotion of the music of Dr. John Sanders
- Supporting choral music for the liturgy
- Encouraging young composers to maintain the cathedral choral tradition
"As Organist and Master of the Choristers at Gloucester Cathedral and Conductor of
the Three Choirs Festival for over a quarter of a century, John Sanders enriched
the world of music far beyond the normal confines of the provincial organ loft.
Organist, conductor, composer, teacher, adjudicator and, not least, an assiduous
administrator, this multi-faceted musician influenced and nurtured the lives of
many generations of aspiring musicians."
Kenneth Shenton (The Independent - 31 December 2003)
John Sanders: composer
His retirement from the Cathedral in 1994 allowed John Sanders time to compose,
something he had wished
to do earlier but for which he had previously found little time. He spent many hours
in the beautiful Herefordshire countryside walking his dogs, and gaining inspiration
for his compositions. He wrote four cantatas for chorus, soloists and orchestra,
song cycles including an orchestral song-cycle setting of the works of
Gloucestershire poets In Praise of Gloucestershire,
the Requiem for unaccompanied choir, a Festival Te Deum, three settings
of the Evening Canticles, numerous motets and anthems, including his sublime setting
of the internationally-performed Reproaches, as well as some organ music. Much of
his music was intended for performance within a liturgical context, and he had a
particular flair for writing for the voice.
John championed the cause of contemporary music by commissioning new works for performance
at the Three Choirs Festival and was keen to ensure further performances too.
This underpins the Society’s aim to promote new compositions for the liturgy by way of the
triennial John Sanders Memorial Competition for Young Composers which, since its
inception in 2008, has offered a succession of young composers an invaluable
opportunity not only of winning a substantial cash prize, but also of experiencing
live performance of their compositions by three of the nation’s finest cathedral choirs
at the Gloucester Three Choirs Festival.
It is with this unique record of service in mind that the
Sanders Society was formed and it continues in its devotion to supporting and promoting all that
John stood for and to which he gave unstinting service.
You can become a member of The Sanders Society using the application form on this website.