Remembering Robin White

All of us were saddended to learn this week of the passing of composer and conductor Robin White at the age of 73. We pass our sincere condolences to his family at this time. Divine Art Records had the distinct privelige of releasing three recordings with Robin, two which included his own works.

Robin trained at Imperial College and the Royal College of Music in London, studying conducting with Vernon Handley and orchestration with Bryan Kelly. In a varied music career, Robin has conducted many orchestras and ensembles, particularly in open-air, pop-classics concerts at National Trust properties and similar venues across the south of England and the midlands.

His recording for Chandos in 1992 of Edwardian light music with his own Southern Festival Orchestra was played extensively on Classic FM. This led to an invitation from Silva Classics to record Noel Coward’s original ballet scores with the City of Prague Philharmonic. Subsequent recordings have included ‘Music for a Royal Wedding’ and ‘The Perfect Fool’ for Classic Fox Records, and ‘Nunc Dimittis’ (Russian sacred choral music) for Claudio Records.

He has worked extensively with choirs, and appeared with his own Alban Voices in a pivotal episode of the British TV soap opera EastEnders in December 2002.

As an arranger, his work has been broadcast by BBC orchestras on Radio 2 light-music programmes, and featured by the Australian Pops Orchestra in a live concert in Melbourne.