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Honorary Doctor of the University, 2007
Bio | Citation

Brian Couzens is the founder of Chandos Records and a self-educated musician who has dedicated his whole life to preserving and promoting the most polished, prolific music of all time. After completing his national service, Brian worked as a composer and arranger for the BBC and other publishers. He then worked on orchestrations for films including Where Eagles Dare, Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines, 633 Squadron and 34 other films.

Set up in 1979, Chandos Records is one of the world's largest independent classical recording companies and one of the music industry's most respected labels. Brian quickly established the business, initially focusing on British composers such as Alwyn, Bax, Bliss, Dyson, Moeran and Rubbra. Subsequently Chandos Records embraced a much wider field and now its catalogue contains over 3,000 titles and includes recordings of music, ancient and modern, by composers from around the globe. In February 2008, Brian was awarded a Grammy for the opera Hansel & Gretel. In 2010, Brian received the Special Achievement Award from Gramophone.

In 2007 Brian Couzens was awarded the Honorary degree of Doctor of the University.

Areas Of Interest: Business, Music
Faculty: Arts, Law & Social Sciences
Citation:

"The Senate of Anglia Ruskin University has great pleasure in recommending the award of Honorary Doctorate of the University to Brian Couzens, an Essex man who has dedicated much of his life to bringing the finest ever classical recordings to a worldwide musical audience.

Brian Couzens, founder of Chandos Records, turned his enduring passion for classical music into a personal crusade to champion rare and neglected classical repertoire in order that as many people as possible can not only access their favourite works, but develop an understanding and appreciation of less well-known music which deserves far wider currency.

A self-educated musician, Brian Couzens worked as a composer and arranger for the BBC and other publishers after he completed his national service. He then worked on orchestrations for films including Where Eagles Dare, Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines and 633 Squadron and 34 other films. Prior to forming the label, Brian, along with son Ralph, worked for nearly a decade recording major British artists for some of the world's renowned classical labels such as RCA and Polydor.

Chandos Records, one of the world's largest independent classical recording companies, is one of the music industry's most revered and respected labels. Set up in 1979, Brian quickly established the business, initially focusing on British composers including Alwyn, Bax, Bliss, Dyson, Moeran and Rubbra. It subsequently embraced a much wider field and became pioneer of the idea of the 'series' bringing the works of Prokofiev, Tchaikovsky, Parry and Walton to the ears of connoisseurs of this much-loved and much-sought after musical genre.

Now the company's richly deserved catalogue contains over 1500 titles and includes recordings of music, ancient and modern, by composers from around the globe. Its ever expanding list of artists (some very much more pronounceable than others) now includes Richard Hickox, Matthias Bamert, I Fagiolini, Louis Lortie, Gianandrea Noseda, Sir Charles Mackerras, the Purcell Quartet, The BBC Philharmonic, the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, the City of London Sinfonia, the Australian Chamber Orchestra, the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the Danish National Radio Choir and Symphony Orchestra and Collegium Musicum 90.

Chandos is universally-acclaimed for the excellence of its sound quality and has always been at the forefront of the technical innovation associated with digital recording and 'surround sound'.

It has picked up many music industry awards including a Gramophone award for Richard Hickox's recording of the original version of Vaughan William's A London Symphony, best choral recording for an undiscovered Mass by Hummel, best orchestral recording for its set of Bax Symphonies and an American Grammy award for Britten's Peter Grimes.

Still always looking for new and challenging opportunities, Brian continues to oversee the growth of the business from its offices and warehouse in Colchester. He is a man who has dedicated his whole life to preserving and promoting the most polished, prolific music of all time and for this reason we salute him today with a top honour from our University.

To acknowledge the success of this unstoppable classical music devotee, I am exercising the power conferred on me by Senate, to invite the Vice Chancellor to bestow the award of Honorary Doctor of the University upon Brian Couzens."

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The 2013 Graduation Ceremony dates can be found here

2013 ceremony dates