Roderick Elms Music

Composer, pianist and organist

Roderick Elms

Roderick Elms is a pianist and organist working both as a soloist and a principal keyboard player with orchestras in London and across the UK.

He is also an established composer and arranger, and his works are performed across the UK, North America and elsewhere.

On this site you will find details of his music, performances and recordings, some of which are available in the shop. The player below cycles through some of his performances and compositions.

New symphony

Roderick Elms’ new symphony, Visions of St Anne‘ will be recorded by the BBC Concert Orchestra in September and conducted by Barry Wordsworth. The CD will be issued as a tribute to the late Bramwell Tovey – the orchestra’s greatly loved principal conductor, who passed away in July 2022. The CD will also include pieces for guitar and orchestra with the distinguished guitarist Carlos Bonell and De profundis, a new concertino for bass clarinet to be recorded by the orchestra’s own Derek Hannigan. The CD closes with Paper Dances for piano duet and orchestra, to be recorded by the composer and his wife, Joanna Smith.

Photo: Bramwell Tovey with Joanna Smith and Roderick Elms – Repton, 2017

A Windy Christmas

New festive CD with The Joyful Company of Singers, The Aurora Ensemble, Chaconne Brass, Illumina Duo, Richard Moore (organ), John Anderson (oboe), Joanna Smith (piano) and conductor, Bramwell Tovey.
New pieces for trumpet, wind quintet, oboe and brass quintet.
Wind-based instrumentation is very much the feature of this new album. For full details click here

Ongar Music Club

A personal History by Roderick Elms

This book chronicles the remarkable story of Ongar Music Club from the lounges and record players of this market town in Essex, to fully-fledged public performances, given by many of the worlds most distinguished musicians, including Lord Yehudi Menuhin, John Lill CBE, Sir Peter Pears, Dame Janet Baker, Benjamin Grosvenor, Stephen Isserlis and Dame Eva Turner.

The club founded the prestigious Essex Young Musician of the Year competition in 1984, and in 1986, it formed a jazz section, which now runs independently and is one of the most respected jazz clubs in the country, having presented many of the great names from the world of jazz such as Kenny Ball, Acker Bilk, Maxine Daniels, Digby Fairweather, Cy Laurie, Humphrey Lyttleton and Ronnie Scott.

The book includes a foreword by Ongar Music Club’s esteemed president John Lill CBE who looks back at his close relationship with the club.

Roderick Elms history of Ongar Music Club is available from this site at the introductory price of £13.50 + carriage.

Full details here

Just a Little From the Top

AVAILABLE NOW – Roderick Elms’ memoirs. These have been a long time coming and were prompted by great encouragement from the writer’s colleagues and friends.

ALED JONES writes – “A truly enjoyable account of Roderick Elms’ life in music, peppered with stories, from the hilarious to the educational! This lively account of the life and times of a valued friend includes plenty of entertaining anecdotes, plus details of musical mishaps and triumphs along the way. A great read for anyone interested in the workings of today’s classical music world.”

‘Just a Little From the Top’ is available from this site at the introductory price of £16.95.

Full details here

Facebook Page

You can keep updated with news about Roderick Elms’ music on Facebook. Follow the link to like his Facebook page! Click here

Three ‘Baroque’ Carols

Vocal scores are now available for this set of arrangements for SATB choir and brass quintet (or keyboard/chamber orchestra).
The carols are Past three o’clock, Wexford Carol and Deck the hall.
Samples from the recordings with The Joyful company of Singers, Chaconne Brass and conductor, Bramwell Tovey are available here.
Available NOW from usual outlets or direct from spartanpress.co.uk