Darren Bartlett

Darren Bartlett is a UK-based composer, arranger and performer whose activities include vocal coaching, vocal performance and piano. He is a prolific choral composer and his published works include arrangements for choirs, solo voice, piano and ensembles.

As a composer and arranger, he has over 200 titles and three full-length stage musicals to his credit. His works have appeared on BBC radio and television and have been performed and recorded in many arenas worldwide. Bartlett works very closely with his older brother, author and historian Dr. Wayne Bartlett, who provides much of the lyrics for the choral works.

Bartlett has a Salvation Army background and spent five years as a member of the International Staff Songsters of The Salvation Army and has several solos and compositions on their recordings. During this time he was featured heavily as a soloist and the Staff Songsters showcased many of his compositions and arrangements. Bartlett trained with the late Ian Adam, who was considered by many to be Britain’s premier voice coach. Adam was responsible for coaching Michael Crawford for his role in the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical, The Phantom Of the Opera. As an arranger/composer, Bartlett has worked with various choirs including the Glasgow Phoenix Choir, Llandaff Cathedral Choir and Cantorion Creigian (Cardiff), and has received commissions from choirs throughout the world. He has appeared on BBC television and BBC Radio, his music has been used on Songs of praise and radio, and is a familiar voice on local radio stations. He now works as a freelance musician.

Bartlett's portfolio of performances include many prestigious venues: in the UK at the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, Birmingham Symphony Hall, Bridgewater Hall (Manchester), The Royal Festival Hall, The Queen Elizabeth Hall, Wembley Arena and The Royal Albert Hall in London. US venues include the Hollywood Bowl, State Theatre (Minneapolis, Minnesota) and in Canada, Roy Thomson Hall and the Toronto Centre for the Arts. He has maintained close links to home performing on a number of occasions at local theatres in support of national and international charities.

His composition "Song of Peace" (lyrics, Wayne Bartlett) was recorded by the BBC Choir Boy of the Year in December 2002 selling over 30,000 copies, with performances stretching from Scandinavia to the USA. This recording features James Eager, the Llandaff Cathedral Choir and the BBC National Orchestra of Wales. This music has also been played by the world famous Yorkshire Building Society brass band.

In 2003, Bartlett appeared on BBC’s Songs of Praise with the Swedish Gospel singer, Annika Hansson, who also appears on his CD, You Raise Me Up. Their duets include Bartlett's arrangements of "What a Friend We Have in Jesus" and the classic gospel song, "His Eye Is on the Sparrow".

Believe is a CD recording released in 2006 at The Royal Albert Hall. This CD features one or two Christmas songs as well as popular favourites.

Since the success of these albums, Bartlett has been much in demand as a guest artist and his vocal performances and workshops have taken him on overseas tours through America, Canada and Europe.

In 2009, Bartlett was invited to appear on the North American Christian TV talk show, 100 Huntley Street where he performed his own compositions and was interviewed about his early years. The broadcast reached millions of viewers throughout Canada and the USA and was also available online. Also in 2009, Bartlett worked on another project in Toronto for a Christmas album to be released in September 2009 ready for the Christmas market. The album, entitled O Holy Night, was made in collaboration with the North York Temple Band, an internationally acclaimed brass band from Canada.

Bartlett is committed to music ministry as the director of his own vocal harmony group, Salvacosta, which participated in the 2012 BBC competition, Choir of the Year. Bartlett’s unique methods of vocal coaching, interpretation and performance techniques caught the attention of international producers of a new musical, The Birth of a King. Bartlett successfully auditioned for the part of the Angel Gabriel and performed the role with great passion at the World premiere at The Lighthouse Arts Centre in Poole on 4 December 2011.

A new recording is in progress due for release later this year (2013) ready for the Christmas market and will feature Salvacosta vocal harmony group along with special guest artists.