Michael C. Brewer

Michael C. "Mike" Brewer OBE is a British music teacher and director. He was the founding musical director of the National Youth Choirs of Great Britain until the summer of 2012. He has also conducted Laudibus, a chamber choir. Brewer has a master of music degree and was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 1995.

In 2013 he and his wife were convicted of indecent assault against a girl who had been one of his pupils; she was reported as having committed suicide after giving evidence at his trial.

Career

He began his career as a schoolteacher and was later Director of Music for Chetham's School of Music. According to the Chet's website Brewer was the youngest and least experienced candidate when he was appointed as the Director in the 1970's. In 1966 he was appointed Head of Music at the Royal Liberty Grammar School, Romford, where he established a large and thriving choir which performed several great works including Bach's "Christmas Oratorio", Mozart's "Requiem" and Haydn's "Creation". During his time in Romford he also founded the Havering Youth Choir. In 1969 he co-wrote an opera, "The Sword In The Stone", a modern work based upon the legend of King Arthur. In 1970 he moved to become Head of Music at The Latymer School.

In 1983 he took the decision with Carl Browning to establish the National Youth Choir of Great Britain. Since then he has been instrumental in forming the NYCGB's approach to the development of young singers.

He is adviser on world music to the International Federation of Choral Music^[1] and assessor to Mexico’s choral programme.

Competition judge

Brewer is consultant for 20 various UK choirs and has been adjudicator for the finals of “Choir of the Year” and the National Festival of Music for Youth in the UK and in international competitions.

Author

Brewer has written books for Fabermusic, including Kickstart your Choir, Warmups, Improve Your Sightsinging (with Paul Harris) and Finetune your Choir. He has published two sets of African songs, Hamba Lulu and Babevuya. Other works are Playpiece, commissioned for the Aberdeen Festival, and Worldsong, performed in the Schools’ Proms 2005.

Brewer was a Churchill Fellow for 2002–3. In 2006–7 his tours took in Mexico, Venezuela, the United States, Singapore, New Zealand, Australia, and the Seychelles.

Conviction

In February 2013, Brewer and his ex-wife were both convicted of indecently assaulting a pupil at Chetham's School of Music between 1978, when she was 14, and 1982. The pair had denied all the charges. The woman who was the subject of the assaults, named as Frances Andrade, was reported to have committed suicide after giving evidence during their trial. It was claimed by prosecutors that Brewer had been forced to resign from Chetham's in the 1990s after an inappropriate relationship with a 16-year-old girl.

See also

The Latymer School