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George Morton is a professional arranger and orchestrator specialising in reducing large scale symphonic works for ensemble and chamber orchestra. His orchestrations are published by Universal Edition, Steel City Music Publishing, Boosey & Hawkes, Novello & Co, and Schott Music and are performed extensively across the world. George's arrangements have been described as "brilliant" by John Storgårds, "very, very cleverly done" by Sheku Kanneh–Mason and "enjoyable, idiomatic arrangements" by David Owen Norris. George was awarded 'Best Arranger' at the Making Music Awards 2020 for his orchestration of Clara Schumann's Quatre Pièces Caractéristiques.
Really fantastic arrangements In 2021, George was commissioned to arrange "Sur," a tango by Troilo, for Ksenija Sidorova, Stuart Skelton, and the BBC Symphony Orchestra to be premiered at the Last Night of the Proms, broadcast live on BBC One and Radio 3. In 2020, Sheku Kanneh-Mason chose George's reduction of the Dvořák Cello Concerto for his first public performances of the work, as well as subsequent streamed concerts with the Oxford Philharmonic, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestras, and the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra. Some of George's recent commission highlights include the Royal Ballet/Royal Opera House, Britten Sinfonia, London Chamber Orchestra, BBC Singers, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, London Mozart Players, BBC Concert Orchestra, Northern Chamber Orchestra, Opera North, Northern Ballet, LPO Education & Community, and BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra.
beautifully done [...] just right for the occasion George's arrangements have been performed by esteemed ensembles, including the BBC Symphony Orchestra, BBC Concert Orchestra, BBC Singers, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Lapland Chamber Orchestra, London Chamber Orchestra, Zug Sinfonietta, NOVA Filharmonija, Kammerakademie Potsdam, Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra, Juilliard Chamber Ensemble, Musikschule der Hansestadt, Mozart Symphony Orchestra, Ensemble Deva, Covent Garden Sinfonia, Nova Foresta, Bath Philharmonia, Kungliga Opera Stockholm, and Camerata Innsbruck. Additionally, his orchestrations have been broadcast on BBC One, BBC Radio 3, Rai 3 (Italy), SRF Swiss Radio and Television, ETV (Estonia) and BBC iPlayer. Eminent conductors and soloists, including Paavo Järvi, Sakari Oramo, Martyn Brabbins, John Storgårds, Bob Chilcott, Jess Gillam, Stuart Skelton, and Sheku Kanneh–Mason have performed his arrangements.
I love working with George! Aside of being a wonderful person, he is an extremely professional arranger, composer and musician! Accordion can be a challenging instrument to write for, especially in piece with orchestra, as there is a danger of 'blending in' with sounds of other instruments- but every time George's writing made it stand out and he was so careful about the textures and dynamics! George regularly works closely with international accordion soloist Ksenija Sidorova, writing new arrangements for accordion and varying size ensembles. Since 2021 George and Ksenija have collaborated on works with ensembles such as BBC Symphony Orchestra, Estonia National Symphony Orchestra, London Chamber Orchestra, Sinfonie Orchester Biel Solothurn, and Dzintari Festival Orchestra. George has transcribed solo accordion material for Ksenija's next album, and regular works alongside her to further the concert material for solo accordion with orchestra.
George is the orchestrator for award-winning choreographer and composer Mthuthuzeli November (who works alongside Alex Wilson) and has created creative, and innovative, orchestrations of new ballets for the Royal Ballet (Royal Opera House) and Northern Ballet (Leeds Playhouse/Linbury Theatre). In 2021 George established Steel City Music Publishing to prepare and publish arrangements and orchestrations of music by composers from backgrounds currently under-represented on the concert platform. He was awarded an Arts Council England / National Lottery Grant to establish the publishing house. The Morton reduction is a work of highly-skilled craft and superb attention to detail. He stays true to Bloch’s big timbral range: the delicate solo sections are brimming with detail and depth, and the orchestral tuttis still pack a powerful punch. |
TROILO Sur | Last Night of the Proms 2021, Ksenija Sidorova/Stuart Skelton/BBCSO/Sakari Oramo
STRAUSS Rosenkavalier (Premiere) | John Storgårds/Lapland Chamber Orchestra
DVORAK Cello Concerto | BBCSSO, iPlayer / BBC Radio 3
BBC Singers/BBC Concert Orchestra/Jess Gillam/Bob Chilcott
Ksenija Sidorova/London Chamber Orchestra/Christopher Warren–Green
HOLST Planets | John Storgårds/Lapland Chamber Orchestra
HOLST Planets | Zug Sinfonietta
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