Stephen Layton MBE: Let the music take off

Stephen Layton has spent his life exploring what happens when people come together to make music. In Sydney to conduct the Sydney Symphony Orchestra and Sydney Philharmonia Choirs in Mozart’s Requiem and other works, he reflects on the balance between instinct and preparation, having examined the famous piece note by note in preparing his own performing edition.

The conversation traces Stephen’s story back to childhood, where he played alongside his father in a Pentecostal church where music might begin spontaneously and gather momentum around the room. From there came an extraordinary journey through Winchester Cathedral, Eton and King’s College, Cambridge, where scholarships opened doors that had once seemed unimaginable. Stephen speaks about founding Polyphony, his ambitious overnight performance of John Tavener’s The Veil of the Temple, and his seventeen years transforming the choir of Trinity College, Cambridge. He also explains why Australia became unexpectedly important to Trinity’s international success, and talks of a life shaped by curiosity, opportunity and an enduring fascination with the collective energy of music-making.

Stephen Layton conducts the Sydney Symphony Orchestra and Sydney Philharmonia Choirs for Mozart’s Requiem and other works at the Sydney Opera House, September 9-12.