Derry Bertenshaw

Composer

Dr Derry Bertenshaw is a native of Shrewsbury, Shropshire. On gaining a First Class Honours Degree in Music he was awarded a Major State Studentship from The British Academy to study for a PhD. His doctoral thesis and his published articles on the influence of the late 16th century Italian madrigal on the Jacobean and Caroline viol consort fantasy have been cited in the 2001 edition of The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians.

After some years involved in musicology, Derry returned to his first love: composition. He is a winner of several international composing competitions including the prestigious New Music for St Paul’s Composition Competition (2019) whose judges included Andrew Carwood, Director of Music at St Paul’s Cathedral, London, and the Ivors-winning composer Cecilia McDowall. Derry’s compositions have received premieres in his home town of Shrewsbury as well as in Liverpool (by members of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra), Hereford Cathedral, St Paul’s Cathedral, London, and in Los Angeles. His music has been published and commercially recorded by the acclaimed concert pianist Chenyin Li for the international-selling Pianist Magazine.

He is currently the Organist and Choirmaster of St Giles’ Church, Shrewsbury.