Joshua Crunden is a professional pianist, organist and violinist based in Stroud,
UK. He is available for work as a solo performer, accompanist, conductor and teacher.
News
All Saints' Bisley Carol Service
Sunday 20 December 2020
Despite the necessary limitations imposed by Covid restrictions, All Saints' Bisley held a fantastic Carol Service this evening. A subset of the Benefice choir sang accompanied by Joshua and he played Bach's In Ducli Jublio BWV 729 as a voluntary to conclude the service. Unfortunately continuing problems with the organ meant the piano was used instead. Nonetheless, the choir and Joshua were excited to be contributing to worship at All Saints' again and the service and music were a definite success.
The service was professionally recorded and can be watched on YouTube
The service was professionally recorded and can be watched on YouTube
New YouTube channel
Friday 1 May 2020
Joshua is excited to announce the launch of his new Youtube Channel where he will be posting new content of recording and videos of recitals. Please do have a look and don’t forget to subscribe.
Pianissami Debut
Saturday 5 October 2019
Over the summer of 2019, Joshua teamed up with fellow pianists James Quinn and John Kerr to form the group Pianissami. With the aim of performing a range of music from the solo piano repertoire, the trio arranged their first performance at Holy Trinity Stroud on 5 October.
The group were delighted to perform to a full church of enthusiastic supporters. The concert was a great success and will hopefully be the first of many!
Their programme included Schubert’s Impromptu Op. 90 No. 3 in G flat major, Rachmaninov’s Preludes 5 & 6 from his Op. 23 and Faure’s Impromptu Op. 36 in E flat major.
Pianissami’s evening debut was preceded by a lunchtime recital on the same day at one of Gloucester’s hidden gems, St Mary de Crypt church in Gloucester. It was a pleasure performing to an appreciative audience in such a beautiful church with a great acoustic.
Following this free lunchtime recital, the trio were delighted to be invited back to play during the Gloucester Music Festival which will take place next summer.
Pianissami will be returning in early 2020 with a new and exciting programme at another venue in Gloucester. More details will follow shortly!
The group were delighted to perform to a full church of enthusiastic supporters. The concert was a great success and will hopefully be the first of many!
Their programme included Schubert’s Impromptu Op. 90 No. 3 in G flat major, Rachmaninov’s Preludes 5 & 6 from his Op. 23 and Faure’s Impromptu Op. 36 in E flat major.
Pianissami’s evening debut was preceded by a lunchtime recital on the same day at one of Gloucester’s hidden gems, St Mary de Crypt church in Gloucester. It was a pleasure performing to an appreciative audience in such a beautiful church with a great acoustic.
Following this free lunchtime recital, the trio were delighted to be invited back to play during the Gloucester Music Festival which will take place next summer.
Pianissami will be returning in early 2020 with a new and exciting programme at another venue in Gloucester. More details will follow shortly!
Remembrance and Hope
Saturday 27 October 2018
In honour of the Centenary of the Armistice in November 2018, Philomusica performed ‘Ring in Peace’, a concert of remembrance and hope with a programme designed to offer reflection and optimism.
Joshua accompanied the choir in Elgar’s setting of the Laurence Binyon poem For The Fallen, John Rutter’s Requiem, and Ian Venables’ Awake! Awake! The World Is Young.
To complement these choral works, Joshua performed Elgar’s Violin Sonata, accompanied by James Quinn on the piano. The sensitive and emotional performance was grealty received, with many audience members congratulating the pair as the highlight of the concert.
Joshua accompanied the choir in Elgar’s setting of the Laurence Binyon poem For The Fallen, John Rutter’s Requiem, and Ian Venables’ Awake! Awake! The World Is Young.
To complement these choral works, Joshua performed Elgar’s Violin Sonata, accompanied by James Quinn on the piano. The sensitive and emotional performance was grealty received, with many audience members congratulating the pair as the highlight of the concert.
A Birthday Recital
Sunday 30 September 2018
In an unusual commission, Joshua was invited by Robert Chadburn to accompany him in a vocal recital celebrating his 60th birthday. The concert was centred around the pair’s performance of Vaughan Williams’ Songs of Travel, with Joshua also providing accompaniment for items by Robert’s friends and family.
Joshua also had the opportunity to perform a number of solo pieces and chose Beethoven’s Sonata No. 5 and Chopin’s Impromptu No. 1.
The recital was very well received by the large number of guests who had come to celebrate Robert’s birthday.
Joshua also had the opportunity to perform a number of solo pieces and chose Beethoven’s Sonata No. 5 and Chopin’s Impromptu No. 1.
The recital was very well received by the large number of guests who had come to celebrate Robert’s birthday.
Music From The Movies
Saturday 16 June 2018
June 2018 brought a duo of fun recitals with soprano Phillippa Lay, featuring favourite songs and arias from the movies.
The programme included items from The Dish, Driving Miss Daisy, Titanic, The Bodyguard, Toy Story 2 and Shrek. The pair gave two performances, at Holy Trinity, Stroud, and at All Saints’ Church, Bisley.
Never taking themselves too seriously, tiaras were donned by both soprano and pianist for their rendition of Let it Go from Frozen.
The programme included items from The Dish, Driving Miss Daisy, Titanic, The Bodyguard, Toy Story 2 and Shrek. The pair gave two performances, at Holy Trinity, Stroud, and at All Saints’ Church, Bisley.
Never taking themselves too seriously, tiaras were donned by both soprano and pianist for their rendition of Let it Go from Frozen.
'Full Marks' Accompanying Soprano Soloist
Sunday 4 Feb 2018
In February 2018 Joshua performed with soprano Phillippa Lay at the Old Bluecoat School, Thatcham, as part of its Tea & Cakes concert series. The repertoire for the Sunday afternoon recital was varied, with Purcell, Handel, Mozart, Gilbert & Sullivan, Vaughan Williams and Flanders & Swann all making an appearance.
Small but perfectly formed, the Old Bluecoat School is a Grade I listed chapel built in 1304, and it served as a wonderful venue for a diverse and entertaining concert. Joshua has been accompanying Phillippa since 2016, and it was an excellent opportunity for the pair to perform together again.
The hour-long recital was very well received, with the Newbury Weekly News rounding off its review with ‘Full marks to Lay and Crunden’.
Small but perfectly formed, the Old Bluecoat School is a Grade I listed chapel built in 1304, and it served as a wonderful venue for a diverse and entertaining concert. Joshua has been accompanying Phillippa since 2016, and it was an excellent opportunity for the pair to perform together again.
The hour-long recital was very well received, with the Newbury Weekly News rounding off its review with ‘Full marks to Lay and Crunden’.
At Tewkesbury Abbey with Philomusica
Saturday 18 November 2017
Joshua has been the accompanist for Midlands-based choral society Philomusica since 2016, a year extremely special to the choir as it marked both their 50th anniversary and also contained their 1,000th concert. Since then, Joshua has supported the choir at twice-weekly rehearsals and performed with them at venues across Gloucestershire and Worcestershire.
Of particular challenge and enjoyment was a performance of Rossini’s Petite Messe Solennelle at Tewkesbury Abbey in the autumn of 2017. The piece was originally scored for two pianos and a harmonium, however in this performance Joshua was the sole pianist for the 70-minute piece. During the same concert, Joshua also accompanied the choir on the Abbey’s magnificent organ for John Ireland’s Greater Love Hath No Man and Gerald Finzi’s God is Gone Up.
Of particular challenge and enjoyment was a performance of Rossini’s Petite Messe Solennelle at Tewkesbury Abbey in the autumn of 2017. The piece was originally scored for two pianos and a harmonium, however in this performance Joshua was the sole pianist for the 70-minute piece. During the same concert, Joshua also accompanied the choir on the Abbey’s magnificent organ for John Ireland’s Greater Love Hath No Man and Gerald Finzi’s God is Gone Up.
About
Summary
Joshua is a professional pianist with extensive experience performing both as a soloist and an accompanist to individuals and choirs. He is also an experienced organist with a permanent position at a parish church and regular work in local cathedrals. As an accomplished violinist, Joshua has played to a high standard with orchestras such as the CBSO Youth Orchestra and Capriol Chamber Orchestra.
An engaging conductor, Joshua has led and developed choirs of all sizes and abilities from church and community choirs to a large choral society. Joshua is a teacher of piano, violin and music theory at all levels.
Joshua studied Music at the University of Birmingham, graduating with a BMus in 2012 and an MA in 2014.
An engaging conductor, Joshua has led and developed choirs of all sizes and abilities from church and community choirs to a large choral society. Joshua is a teacher of piano, violin and music theory at all levels.
Joshua studied Music at the University of Birmingham, graduating with a BMus in 2012 and an MA in 2014.
Piano
Joshua is a professional pianist with extensive experience performing both as a soloist and an accompanist to individuals and choirs.
As a solo performer, Joshua enjoys performing regularly in recitals in Gloucestershire and further afield in the Midlands, with repertoire ranging from Beethoven Piano Sonatas to Chopin’s Ballad No. 3 Op. 47 to contemporary compositions by local composers such as Richard Pond.
Joshua is also a member of the newly formed group Pianissami alongside fellow pianists John Kerr and James Quinn. Pianissami held debut performances on 5th October 2019 at St Mary de Crypt Gloucester and Holy Trinity Stroud. Following on from these successful concerts, the trio will be returning in the new year to perform more classical piano repertoire at St Andrew’s Churchdown, Gloucester.
While at university Joshua studied piano with Joseph Middleton, taking modules in performance in both his second and final years. During his time at university, he performed in a series of evening recitals with fellow pianist Alex Howgego, performing works such as Brahms’ Ballade Op. 118 in G minor, Beethoven Piano Sonatas and Preludes and Fugues from Bach’s Well Tempered Clavier.
Since returning home to Gloucestershire he has continued learning with Jenny Lindop and is currently working toward his ABRSM performance diploma. Recent performances include evening recitals at St Barnabas’, Erdington alongside pianist and organist Vincent Byrne and also with Pianissami for their debut concert at Holy Trinity Stroud.
While specialising in performing classical repertoire, Joshua also has experience in performing Jazz music.
Listen to some of Joshua’s recent piano solo recordings on his Youtube Channel
Violin
Joshua is currently a member of the Capriol Chamber Orchestra. He also enjoys paid work playing in orchestras for choral concerts, performing works such as Handel’s Messiah, Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater and Verdi’s Requiem.
Previous orchestral experience includes playing for Gloucestershire Youth Orchestra during his school years, with whom he performed works such as Mahler’s Symphony No. 1 and Elgar’s Cello Concerto at venues including Gloucester Cathedral and Cheltenham Town Hall. His orchestral playing continued at university where he became a member of the department’s chamber orchestra and the Music Society’s symphony and philharmonic orchestras. As well as playing works from the symphonic repertoire, the latter two orchestras also accompanied the university choir in performances of Mozart’s Requiem, Elgar’s The Dream of Gerontius and Haydn’s Nelson Mass.
During his time at the university he also became a member of the prestigious CBSO Youth Orchestra. Joined by many extremely talented orchestral players from the university, the conservatoire and from further afield, he had the privilege of working with world-renowned conductors such as Jac van Steen, Alan Buribayev and John Wilson. The repertoire performed included Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 11, Mahler’s Ruckert-Lieder, Gershwin’s Piano Concerto and Rachmaninov’s Symphonic Dances. Joshua has also performed in the orchestra pit for productions of Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas and Britten’s Paul Bunyan, for Gilbert and Sullivan operettas and for a production of The Pyjama Game.
Since leaving university he has also played as deputy leader for Stroud Symphony Orchestra.
Joshua has also been involved in numerous chamber performances, including with pianist Alex Howgego. The repertoire for these recitals has included Beethoven’s Spring Sonata, Elgar’s Sonata for Violin and Piano and Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto (with piano reduction).
Joshua has also received paid work playing in string quartets for weddings and also provided solo violin incidental music for various functions.
Conducting
An engaging conductor, Joshua has led and developed choirs of all sizes and abilities from church and community choirs to a large choral society.
Joshua is currently employed as choirmaster to the choir of All Saints’ Church, Bisley, which sings regularly for Sung Eucharist and Evensong, tackling demanding repertoire and often with just one or two rehearsals prior to the service. He also conducts rehearsals for the choral society Philomusica where he is incumbent accompanist on occasions when their primary conductor is unavailable.
Previous experience in conducting includes being employed as conductor and choirmaster at Our Lady of Mount Carmel church, Redditch from September 2011 to June 2014.
Joshua was also conductor and accompanist for Stonehouse Community Choir from September 2015 to October 2017, working with a large group of untrained singers, introducing them to a variety of music for choirs and conducting them in various performances around the Stroud area. Joshua has also worked as Musical Director for pantomimes and productions given by Gloucester Operatic and Dramatic Society.
As a singer, Joshua has sung regularly at the Birmingham Oratory – performing Mass settings by Monteverdi, Victoria and Mozart – and also in choral society performances of Orff’s Carmina Burana and Brahms’ German Requiem.
Organ
Joshua is currently the organist at All Saints’ Church, Bisley, where he plays for weekly services as well as events such as weddings and funerals. As an accompanist to the choral society Philomusica, Joshua has the opportunity to play the organ at churches and cathedrals across the Midlands.
Joshua is a professional pianist with extensive experience performing both as a soloist and an accompanist to individuals and choirs.
Joshua currently holds the position of accompanist for the choral society Philomusica, playing the piano for their rehearsals and organ for their concerts at venues such as Tewkesbury Abbey. He also enjoys regular work performing with singers including Phillippa Lay, and various instrumentalists.
Recent performances include an afternoon recital with Phillippa in Thatcham where the duo performed a wide repertoire ranging from Purcell and Mozart to songs by contemporary composer Ian Venables. Joshua also accompanied both Phillippa and violinist Angie Spencer at an afternoon recital at the Stroud Subscription Rooms, hosted by Trevor Smith.
He is currently working with violinist Cathy Hill and cellist Benjamin Dry on piano trio repertoire including Mendelssohn’s Piano Trio Op. 49 and has regular work accompanying students for their ABRSM/Trinity exams.
If you require an accompanist for performances or music exams, please contact Joshua.
Teaching
Joshua provides piano, violin and music theory lessons in the Stroud area. Joshua teaches at all levels from beginner to Grade 8, and has experience teaching children and adults.
If you would like more information about Joshua’s availability and rates, please contact Joshua.
Performances
Date
Programme
Venue
Ensemble
Tickets
Gallery
Recording
Brahms: Capriccio in D minor Op. 116 No. 1
Gershwin: The Man I Love
Debussy: La plus que lente
Brahms: Intermezzo in E major Op. 116 No. 4
Prokofiev Vision Fugitive No. 8 Commmodo
Faure: Nocturne in E Flat Op. 72
Testimonials
I have had the pleasure of working with Joshua for a good number of years, and he is a very adept and extremely sensitive musician. In my opinion, his greatest assets are his capacity for listening, and offering creative ideas as part of a group. These, along with his unwavering attention to detail, make him a truly rewarding musician to work with.
Alex Howgego, Pianist
Joshua has actively worked with my piano and piano accompaniment compositions in both the recording studio and in concert. It has been a privilege to have him perform my music. He comes to the piano keyboard with enthusiasm often after many hours of rehearsal to unfold the page before him to produce enlivened performances. It is a pleasure to work with such an accomplished musician.
Richard Pond, Composer
Having started a church choir together nearly a year ago, Joshua has proved to be a great colleague to work with. He has a real understanding of the sacred music repertoire. He is a sensitive accompanist and always prepared to listen to advice. From being originally only a piano keyboard player, Joshua has taken the trouble to hone his skills on the organ. He has a real feel for and knowledge of music for Christian liturgy and a good knowledge of the repertoire of sacred music. He is reliable, punctual and organised. He has a good sense of humour and is always appreciative of others’ achievements.
Tom Merry, Choirmaster, All Saints' Bisley
Joshua has been the accompanist for my choir, Philomusica of Gloucestershire and Worcestershire, for 15 months. I have found him to be totally reliable and more than willing to put in extra rehearsal time in order to play demanding scores to a high standard, whether on piano or organ. He is punctual, polite and unfailingly cheerful and is most rewarding to work with. He has also played violin solos for us in several concerts. He serves on the Music Selection committee and the Soloists’ selection committee and always makes useful contributions to both.
Linda Parsons, Conductor, Philomusica
Joshua is always sensitive and responsive in his accompanying and I feel confident and at ease during our performances together. He sight-reads to a high standard, but always works hard to ensure he knows the music thoroughly before a performance and is a pleasure to work with.
Phillippa Lay, Soprano
Joshua taught piano to my children, aged 5 and 7. They looked forward to the lessons and learned a lot from him. The only reason we stopped is because he moved away, otherwise we would certainly have continued. I would recommend him highly – he’s very friendly, professional, dedicated and fun and also an excellent musician. Couldn’t ask for more.
Mel & John
Contact
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