English Deutsch Karl Jenkins was born in Wales and educated at Gowerton Grammar School before reading music at the University of Wales, Cardiff. He then commenced postgraduate studies at the Royal Academy of Music, London.
It was in jazz that he initially made his mark. In those days of ‘Jazz Polls” he was a prolific poll winner, playing at London’s famous Ronnie Scott’s club before co-forming Nucleus, who won first prize at the Montreux jazz festival and appeared at the Newport Jazz Festival, Rhode Island.
This was followed by a period with Soft Machine, one of the seminal bands of the ’70s. Through many incarnations, ‘Softs’ defied categorization playing venues as diverse as Carnegie Hall, the classical BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall, and the Reading Festival.
In the field of advertising music he has won the prestigious D&AD award for best music [twice], the ‘Creative Circle Gold’ and several ‘Clios’ [New York] and ‘Golden Lions’ [Cannes]. Credits include Levi’s, British Airways, Renault, Volvos, C&G, Tag Heuer, Pepsi as well as US/global campaigns for De Beers and Delta Airlines. In addition he gained Bafta ‘gongs’ for his scores for the documentaries ‘The Celts’ and ’Testament’.
After this period as a media composer, his return to the music mainstream was initially marked by the success of the
Adiemus project.
Adiemus, combining a classical base with ethnic vocal sounds, ethnic percussion and an invented language, topped classical and pop charts around the world, gaining 17 gold or platinum album awards while performing in Tokyo, Madrid, London, Helsinki, Munich etc.
The Armed Man: A Mass For Peace, commissioned by the Royal Armouries for the millennium and premiered at the Royal Albert Hall, London, has had over seven hundred performances in recent years while the CD, featuring the National Youth Choir of Great Britain and the London Philharmonic Orchestra, has gained “Gold Disc” status in the UK.
Works include the harp concerto
Over The Stone commissioned by HRH the Prince of Wales for the Royal Harpist, Catrin Finch, the concertante,
Quirk, commissioned by the London Symphony Orchestra and conducted by Sir Colin Davis as part of its 2005 centenary season,
Tlep written for virtuoso violinist Marat Bisengaliev and based on Kazak themes and
In These Stones Horizons Sing, featuring Bryn Terfel, Catrin Finch with the WNO Orchestra & Chorus which was premiered at the Royal Gala opening of the Welsh Millennium Centre in the presence of Her Majesty The Queen.
Sarikiz, a violin concerto for Marat Bisengaliev, was premiered at Lincoln Center in New York in January 2009.
In the summer of 2005 he scored the feature film,
River Queen starring Kiefer Sutherland & Samantha Morton, the soundtrack of which won the Golden Goblet award for best score at the Shanghai Film Festival
Recent CD releases have been
Requiem, which went to No.1 in the UK classical charts,
“Kiri Sings Karl” with Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, and
This Land Of Ours, a musical celebration of Welsh culture featuring the Cory Band [winners of the 2007 British Open Championship] and the male choir, Only Men Aloud.
Stabat Mater was released by EMI Classics in 2008 prior to the premiere at Liverpool Cathedral on March 15th, while
Quirk, a collection of concertos was released in October 2008.
Karl has been subject of the ITV South Bank Shows by Lord [Melvyn] Bragg as well as being a ‘castaway’ on
Desert Island Discs.
In 2004 he entered Classic FM’s ‘Hall of Fame’ at No.8, the highest position for a living composer and has been the highest placed living composer since, as well as, in 2006, No.4 amongst British composers.
Karl holds a D.Mus [Doctor of Music] degree from the University of Wales, has been made both a Fellow and an Associate of the Royal Academy of Music, where a room has been named in his honour. He has fellowships at Cardiff University, the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama, Trinity College Carmarthen, Swansea Institute and was presented by Classic FM with the ‘Red f‘ award for ‘outstanding service to classical music’.
He was recently awarded an honorary doctorate [music] from the University of Leicester, the Chancellors Medal from the University of Glamorgan and two Honorary visiting Professorships, one at Thames Valley University/London College of Music and the other at the ATriUM, Cardiff.
He was awarded an OBE, by Her Majesty The Queen, in the 2005 New Years Honours List “for services to music”.
January 2009 
