Sir John Milford Rutter (born 24 September 1945) is an English composer, conductor, editor, arranger, and record producer, mainly of choral music. He founded the Cambridge Singers who premiered and recorded many of his works for his own label Collegium Records. His compositions, extended pieces for choir and orchestra, such as Requiem and Magnificat, and many choral works including For the beauty of the earth, Christmas Carol and A Clare Benediction, are popular, especially in the UK and the United States. He is known for Christmas carols, in both arrangements of traditional melodies and new compositions, and Carols for Choirs anthology series compiled with David Willcocks.
Born in London on 24 September 1945, the son of an industrial chemist and his wife, Rutter grew up living over the Globe pub on London's Marylebone Road. He was educated at Highgate School, where fellow pupils included John Tavener, Howard Shelley, Brian Chapple and Nicholas Snowman. As a chorister there, Rutter took part in the first (1963) recording of Benjamin Britten's War Requiem under the composer's baton. He then read music at Clare College, Cambridge, where he was a member of the choir. Whilst an undergraduate, he had his first compositions published, including the "Shepherd's Pipe Carol". He served as director of music at Clare College from 1975 to 1979, and led the choir to international prominence.
In 1981, Rutter founded his own choir, the Cambridge Singers, which he has conducted, and with which he has made many recordings of sacred choral repertoire (including his own works), particularly under his own label Collegium Records.
From 1985 to 1992, Rutter suffered severely from myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME, or chronic fatigue syndrome), which restricted his output; after 1985, he stopped writing music on commission, as he was unable to guarantee meeting deadlines.
Rutter also works as an arranger and editor. As a young man, he collaborated with Sir David Willcocks on five volumes of the extraordinarily successful Carols for Choirs anthology series.
He was inducted as a National Patron of Delta Omicron, an international professional music fraternity in 1985. Rutter is also a Vice-President of the Joyful Company of Singers, President of The Bach Choir, and President of the Association of British Choral Directors (ABCD).
Rutter resides at Hemingford Abbots in Cambridgeshire.
Rutter's compositions are chiefly choral, and include many Christmas carols, anthems and psalms, as well as extended works with orchestra such as the Gloria (1977), the Requiem (1985), the Magnificat (1990), and Mass of the Children (2003).
The world premiere of Rutter's Requiem (1985), and of his authoritative edition of Fauré's Requiem, took place with the Fox Valley Festival Chorus, in Illinois. In 2002, his setting of Psalm 150, commissioned for the Queen's Golden Jubilee, was performed at the Jubilee thanksgiving service in St Paul's Cathedral in London. Similarly, he was commissioned to write a new anthem, "This is the day", for the wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton in 2011, performed at Westminster Abbey during the service. The first two choral items sung at the Queen's Platinum Jubilee National Service of Thanksgiving in June 2022 were arrangements by Rutter, as were no fewer than six items performed at the Coronation of Charles III and Camilla.
There is also the children's opera Bang! (1975) and orchestral works such as Cityscapes (aka Partita, 1974), The Beatles Concerto (1977), Reflections (1979, a three movement piano concerto with orchestral prelude), Suite Antique (1979), and the more recent Four Miniatures for Orchestra (2021) and Celebration Overture (2023).
Rutter's work is published by Oxford University Press.
His many choral works and anthems often appear in different versions, for different voices, and accompaniment from keyboard to large orchestra, including:
Angels' Carol (Christmas, 1980s)
Brother Heinrich's Christmas (with narration)
Candlelight Carol (Christmas, 1980s)
Christmas Lullaby (Christmas, 1990)
A Clare Benediction (blessing, 1998)
Fancies, 6 choral settings of poetry by Shakespeare, Thomas Campion, Edward Lear and others (1971)