Paul Elliott

English tenor Paul Elliott rose to prominence among London’s vibrant early music circles before relocating his professional activities to the United States. At the customary age of nine he secured a place as a chorister at St. Paul’s Cathedral after a competitive audition. In 1964 he received a music scholarship to the King’s School, Canterbury, where his studies encompassed flute, voice, and piano. He later attended Magdalene College, Oxford, as a choral scholar, completing a bachelor of arts in 1973 and a master of arts in philosophy, politics, and economics in 1977.

During this period he performed with the Monteverdi Choir, the Schutz Choir, Cantores in Ecclesia, the John Alldis Choir, the Baccholian Singers of London, the Deller Consort, and the Consort of Musick. In 1974 he helped establish the Hilliard Ensemble, deepening his commitment to early music, and also became a member of the Early Music Consort of London. He was likewise a founding member, in 1976, of the London Early Music Group. Additional collaborations included recordings and concerts with the Academy of Ancient Music, Pro Cantione Antiqua, Broadside Band, and the Medieval Ensemble of London.

Elliott portrayed Abaris in a 1978 Flanders Festival production of Rameau’s Les Boreades and subsequently pursued a career in Baroque and Classical opera. His American solo debut occurred in Handel’s Messiah at the Hollywood Bowl, where Christopher Hogwood led the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra.

In North America he has appeared with the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra of San Francisco in Handel repertoire and at the Vancouver Early Music Festival. Further engagements have taken him to Tafelmusik, the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, and numerous other ensembles across the United States, Canada, and Europe.

He became a member of Theatre of Voices in 1991, the ensemble founded by Paul Hillier, with whom he had previously collaborated in the Hilliard Ensemble. When Hillier moved Theatre of Voices to Bloomington in 1996 to direct the Early Music Institute, Elliott’s work increasingly embraced contemporary music alongside its early-music focus. He served as soloist on the Nonesuch recording of Steve Reich’s Proverbs and performed music by John Cage, Arvo Pärt, and the Renaissance composers William Byrd, Orlande de Lassus, Thomas Tallis, and Josquin Desprez. His discography of more than ninety recordings is issued on Nonesuch, Harmonia Mundi, and ECM. He continues to appear regularly at festivals and with orchestras in Europe and Britain while conducting master classes and workshops throughout North America. Elliott resides in Bloomington with his wife, viola da gamba player Wendy Gillespie, and their two young sons. A licensed real estate broker, he also presents himself as “the Singing Realtor.”