John is delighted to have been awarded the European Church Music Prize 2019 from the German city of Schwäbisch Gmünd. The prize will be presented in a ceremony on 18th July as part of the Schwäbisch Gmünd Festival of European Church Music, at which John will be leading a Come and Sing event and conducting the second half of the celebration concert.
Previous winners of the prize include Arvo Pärt, Krzysztof Penderecki, Klaus Huber, Dieter Schnebel, Sofia Gubaidulina, Frieder Bernius and Younghi Pagh-Paan.
John was commended for ‘his great contributions to the field of clerical music: John Rutter is currently one of the most important and popular representatives of the genre. His personal style is unmistakable – a great melodic ingenuity, complex harmonies and rhythms give Rutter’s church music a suggestive power that touches both professional and amateur ensembles alike.’