Paul Adrian Rooke (Conductor) was born in Peterborough and educated at Bishop’s Stortford College and at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, where he read music. After graduating he spent 36 years teaching music in secondary schools. He retired from teaching in 2002 and has established himself as a free-lance musical originator and editor, in particular transcribing and editing music by Elgar and Rutland Boughton.

Early in 2007, Paul helped to form a new company, ElgarWorks, the purpose of which is to provide assistance in all practical ways to performers and promoters wishing to put on works by Elgar. One aim of the company is to make available for sale or for hire the vocal scores, full scores and instrumental parts of all of Elgar’s music so that choral societies and orchestras may obtain them at reasonable cost. In addition, Paul is Chief Originator for the Elgar Complete Edition and has set all the violin music for Volume 37 (which was published on Elgar’s 150th birthday: 2 June 2007), and Volume 4 Scenes from the Saga of King Olaf (published December 2007).

Paul has conducted and composed from his student days. The list of compositions includes various carols and solo songs as well as the song-cycles Crimson Joy, A Memory for Darkness, When I Was in Love with You and The DTs. There is also a String Trio, a Flute Concerto, the opera The Fairy Feller’s Masterstroke, Jubilee Overture (written to celebrate the diamond jubilee of Hitchin Concert Orchestra in 1989) and Ariel and Caliban (a suite for Wind and Percussion commissioned in 1990 by North Hertfordshire Youth Orchestra). His two symphonies have been given their premières by Hitchin Symphony Orchestra in November 2001 and 2006 and have been very favourably received. A commission by Stevenage Choral Society for the Stevenage Jubilee Arts Festival 2002 of a choral work involving children’s choir, adult choir and orchestra resulted in The Selfish Giant. This was given its première at The Gordon Craig Theatre (Stevenage) by Kingshott School Chamber Choir, Stevenage Choral Society, and Hitchin Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Robin Osterley. At present he is working on a Saxophone Concerto. His latest success is with five pieces by Elgar, three for piano trio and two for violin and piano. These were all left unfinished at Elgar’s death and have been completed by Paul and made into performable works. In all cases this involved some editing and, particularly in the case of the first of the Three Movements for Piano Trio, left only 50% completed by Elgar, this involved some considerable amount of pastiche composition. In addition, there are Two Polonaises. The Movements for Pianoforte Trio have been performed at Rickmansworth, Bingham and Pulborough and were performed in London for The Elgar Society (London Branch) and on 8 June 2009 by Shulah Oliver (Violin), Harriet Jeffrey (Violoncello) and Simon Marlow (Pianoforte), and by the same performers at All Saints Church, Hertford. The Elgar/Rooke: Three Movements for Piano Trio have been recorded twice onto CD by the Fibonacci Sequence (Dutton Epoch label: CDLX 7220) and The Gould Piano Trio (Champs Hill Records: CHRCD027).

In April 1984 Paul conducted a most successful production of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by John McCabe in the presence of the composer. The following September he became conductor of Hitchin Concert Orchestra and now has a wide repertoire of 20th century British pieces and some adventurous modern works by Jeremy Aknai, Malcolm Arnold, Douglas Coombes, Gordon Crosse, John McCabe, Robert Simpson, Martin Vishnik – and himself.

His website, http://www.pauladrianrooke.com, has been available since November 2001.

This page was last modified on 23rd November, 2011.