Raj kumar at 06:21, 8 May 2026

2026-05-08T06:21:54Z

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{{Short description|English composer and teacher (born 1943)}}
{{Use British English|date=January 2018}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2018}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Chris de Souza
| image = Chris-de-Souza-HCS-President.jpg
| alt =
| caption =
| birth_name = Christopher Edward de Souza
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=y|1943|6|6}}
| birth_place = [[Lucknow]], [[United Provinces (1937–1950)|United Provinces]], [[British India]]
| death_date =
| death_place =
| other_names =
| known_for =
| alma_mater = {{Unbulleted list|[[Bristol University]]|[[Bristol Old Vic Theatre School]]}}
| occupation = Composer, opera producer, presenter, director, teacher
| years_active = 1966–present
| spouse = Elinor Kelly
| children = 2, including [[Sebastian de Souza|Sebastian]]
}}

'''Christopher Edward de Souza''' (born 6 June 1943)<ref name="debretts">{{cite web|url=http://www.debretts.com/people/biographies/browse/d/2798/Christopher+Edward.aspx|title=Chris de Souza biography|work=DeBretts|access-date=4 April 2012}}</ref> is an English composer, teacher, music director, broadcaster, opera producer and author. He has presented programmes on [[BBC Radio 3]], [[BBC Radio 4|Radio 4]] and [[BBC World Service|World Service]].<ref name="trade">{{cite web|url=http://www.talkingtrade.com/associates.html|title=Associates The Talking Trade|access-date=4 April 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120329194439/http://www.talkingtrade.com/associates.html|archive-date=29 March 2012}}</ref>

==Education and career==
Chris de Souza is a [[Graduate school|graduate]] in music from [[University of Bristol|Bristol University]] (1966) and a graduate of the Directors' Course of the [[Bristol Old Vic Theatre School]].<ref name="trade" />

He has worked in the media as a theatre director, radio music producer and presenter. Head of Music at [[St Bernadette Catholic Secondary School]] in Bristol from 1966 to 1970, he went on to become a Producer with [[English National Opera#Sadler.27s Wells Opera|Sadlers Wells/English National Opera]] in 1971.<ref name="Artsplay">{{cite web |url=http://www.artsplay.co.uk/Arts_Play/The_de_Souzas.html |title=About Artsplay |access-date=4 April 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130122222044/http://www.artsplay.co.uk/Arts_Play/The_de_Souzas.html |archive-date=22 January 2013 }}</ref> From then on De Souza produced over 100 operas around the world,<ref name="debretts" /> among which the soundtrack for the fireworks display in the [[Silver Jubilee of Elizabeth II]].<ref name="sinfonia">{{cite web|url=http://www.southernsinfonia.co.uk/person.html|title=Artistic Adviser |work=Southern Sinfonia |access-date=4 April 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140426234518/http://www.southernsinfonia.co.uk/person.html?id=8 |archive-date=26 April 2014 }}</ref>

Since 1966 he wrote and performed several compositions like ''8 Epithalamia for Organ'', ''Maharajahs'', ''The Ides of March'', ''Children of the Light''. In 1977 he devised the Liszt Festival of London editing and directing the first modern performance of [[Franz Liszt]]'s opera ''[[Don Sanche]]''.<ref name="sinfonia" /> As a composer his music has been widely broadcast and performed, with recent commissions from the [[BBC Radio|BBC]], Southern Sinfonia, [[Berkshire Maestros|West Berkshire Maestros]] and the Lymington Choral Society.<ref name="Artsplay" />

In 1975 he joined the [[BBC London 94.9|BBC Radio London]] becoming the BBC first [[The Proms|Proms]] Producer in 1987. He presented Radio London's arts programme ''Look Stop Listen'', ''Performance on 3'' (with [[Humphrey Burton]])<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/mbradio3/html/NF2620065?thread=3335345|title=Presenters Radio 3|publisher=[[BBC]]|access-date=19 July 2013|archive-date=20 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160820000401/http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/mbradio3/html/NF2620065?thread=3335345|url-status=dead}}</ref> and ''Discovering Music'' on [[BBC Radio 3]] and [[Sky (UK and Ireland)#Sky Digital|Sky Digital]]. As a presenter his own programme ''Tuning Up'', focusing on young musicians, won a Silver Medal at the New York Radio Festival in 1992. He has also presented on TV, [[BBC World Service]], and broadcasts classical channels for many airlines.<ref name="sinfonia" /> For 25 years, he has presented the Classical Channel on [[Emirates (airline)|Emirates]], and most recently presented the opera broadcasts on [[Class CNBC|CNBCTV]].<ref name="cranford">{{cite web|url=http://www.cranfordchoral.org.uk/#!about-us/c1enr|title=Our conductor – Cranford Choral Society|access-date=10 December 2015}}</ref>

De Souza is an author of classical music guides like ''Looking at music'', ''Listening to Music'', ''The Kingfisher Young People's Book of Music'', and wrote articles to [[The Listener (magazine)|The Listener]], [[M Music & Musicians|Music and Musicians]], Musical Time and other magazines.<ref name="debretts" /> As narrator he appears in works like [[Peter and the Wolf]] and [[The Carnival of the Animals]], of which he performed his own version in the presence of [[Princess Alexandra, The Honourable Lady Ogilvy|HRH Princess Alexandra]].<ref name="sinfonia" /> Recent compositions include ''Bottom's Dream'' commissioned for the [[BBC Singers]], a [[Trombone]] Concerto commissioned by Southern Sinfonia, and ''Loved and Unloved'' for the [[Lymington]] Choral Society.<ref name="cranford" />

He is a music teacher and works with many children's theatre groups. He was adjudicator at the Repton School music competitions in March 1984.<ref name="Artsplay" /> From 1986 to 1999 he was a member of the [[British Youth Opera]].<ref name="debretts" /> He is also the [[Artistic Director]] of Southern Sinfonia in [[Newbury, Berkshire|Newbury]], a member of the [[Royal Society of Musicians]] and of the [[British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors]].<ref name="debretts" />

De Souza took over from Ann Wright as conductor of Cranford Choral Society, [[Wallingford, Oxfordshire]] in 2015.<ref name="cranford" />

De Souza once worked at the Dolphin School, Berkshire, where he taught Latin and Classical Studies, from 1 September 2011 till August 2024, and now only teaches at [[Bradfield College]], where he teaches music.{{citation needed|date=January 2025}}

==Awards and nominations==
De Souza has adjudicated for the [[BBC Young Musician of the Year]] award, the [[Royal Over-Seas League]], and the Newbury Young Musician of the Year and chairs the Parkhouse Award for [[chamber music]].<ref name="cranford" /> As a record producer, he was nominated at the [[2000 Grammy Awards]] for ''[[Powder Her Face]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.digitalhit.com/grammy/42/nominees.shtml|title=42nd Grammy Award Nominations |work=Digital Hit Entertainment|access-date=19 July 2013}}</ref>

==Personal life==
De Souza lives in [[Boxford, Berkshire]], with his wife, [[Rachel de Souza]], and two sons Tristan and [[Sebastian de Souza|Sebastian]].{{citation needed|date=August 2022}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20140426234518/http://www.southernsinfonia.co.uk/person.html?id=8 Chris de Souza] at the Southern Sinfonia Official Site
*[http://www.debretts.com/people/biographies/browse/d/2798/Christopher+Edward.aspx Esq Christopher de Souza] at [[Debrett's]]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:De Souza, Chris}}
[[Category:1943 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:English composers]]
[[Category:English writers]]
[[Category:English music educators]]
[[Category:English theatre directors]]
[[Category:British radio personalities]]
[[Category:British television directors]]
[[Category:British people of Goan descent]]
[[Category:Classical music radio presenters]]
[[Category:Members of the Royal Society of Musicians]]
[[Category:BBC people]]
[[Category:Alumni of the University of Bristol]]
[[Category:Alumni of Bristol Old Vic Theatre School]]

Chris de Souza - Revision history

Raj kumar at 06:21, 8 May 2026