Founder and conductor of the world-renowned choir The Sixteen, Harry was a chorister at Canterbury Cathedral and an academical clerk at Magdalen College, Oxford. He was later a lay vicar at Westminster Abbey, and sang with the Clerkes of Oxenford and the BBC Singers.
As well as being a regular guest conductor for symphony orchestras and opera companies worldwide, Harry Christophers is Artistic Director of Boston’s Handel and Haydn Society, the oldest continuously active performing arts organisation in the US, and is also Principal Guest Conductor of the Orquesta Ciudad de Granada. He has directed The Sixteen and its orchestra worldwide – gaining a distinguished reputation for his work in Renaissance, Baroque and twentieth-century music – and has made a significant contribution to the recording catalogue, forming the record label CORO in 2001. The catalogue has grown to include over 170 titles.
Harry has overseen a transformation in The Sixteen’s work since the launch of their annual Choral Pilgrimage in 2000. Choral Pilgrimage programmes have introduced many newcomers to unfamiliar sacred compositions and composers, drawing capacity audiences to the cathedrals, churches and other venues within The Sixteen’s national touring circuit. Christophers and The Sixteen have also connected with large audiences through their BBC television series, Sacred Music, presented by actor Simon Russell Beale (also a former chorister). Most recently, the pair presented the hour-long programme, Monteverdi in Mantua.
Harry was appointed CBE in the Queen’s 2012 Birthday Honours for his services to music. He is an Honorary Fellow of Magdalen College, Oxford, as well as the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, and has honorary doctorates in Music from the Universities of Leicester, Northumbria, Canterbury Christ Church and Kent. Harry’s numerous awards include a Gramophone Award for Early Music and the Classical Brit Award, and the CD IKON was nominated for a Grammy Award.