{{Short description|British pianist and composer}} {{For|the American politician|Christopher F. Norton}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
'''Christopher Garth Norton''' (born June 22, 1953) is a British-Canadian pianist and composer of jazz music. His pieces are standard in piano learning repertoire, especially the ABRSM and The Royal Conservatory of Music.
== Education == Norton was born in New Zealand. He worked as a composer-in-schools for a year after finishing his studies at the University of Otago,<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music |title=Piano exam pieces : ABRSM grade 7 : selected from the 2023 & 2024 syllabus. |date=2022 |others=Richard Douglas Jones |isbn=978-1-78601-460-3 |location=London |oclc=1344281083}}</ref> then freelanced as a composer, arranger and pianist. He moved to the UK in 1977 on a New Zealand Government Scholarship. He studied at York University, taught by Wilfred Meyers and David Blake.<ref name=":0" />
== Career == His earliest publications were with Universal Edition in London, and included ''Carol Jazz'' — improvisations on Christmas tunes — and ''Sing'n'Swing'', for choir, piano and percussion.
Boosey & Hawkes signed Norton in 1983, and the first of the Microjazz series appeared, an educational music series that has expanded over 30 years to include music for all of the major instruments with piano, ensemble books, backing tracks and midi-file backings. {{As of | 2015}} it ranked as the biggest selling music series for Boosey & Hawkes, with well over a million sales to that date.{{Citation needed|date=February 2008}} Boosey & Hawkes claims that it is "one of the most widely used educational series ever published."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.boosey.com/pages/cr/news/further_info.asp?NewsID=10491&LangID= |title=Christopher Norton's Microjazz celebrates 20th anniversary |publisher=Boosey.com |date= |accessdate=2012-02-01}}</ref>
Norton's other publications with Boosey & Hawkes include the ''Essential Guides'' to Pop, Latin and Jazz Styles, the Rock, Country, Latin and Jazz ''Preludes'' series, and the ''Christopher Norton Concert Collections''. Other recently published works include a CD-ROM, ''So You Wanna Be a Pop Star'', tutors for electronic keyboard and guitar, and a volume in Boosey & Hawkes' ''Buy A Band'' range. In 2006, Norton gave a microjazz workshop at the Royal Irish Academy of Music in Dublin;<ref>"Noticeboard," ''The Irish Times,'' February 21, 2006, LexisNexis.</ref> he has also held workshops in Australia and New Zealand, Canada and the United States, the Netherlands, Spain, Germany, Malaysia, and Singapore.
In 2007, Frederick Harris Music published ''Christopher Norton Connections for Piano'', a collection of 180 new, original piano pieces in popular styles. The pieces are divided into graded books that correspond to respective grade of other Frederick Harris Music publications, such as Celebration Series. According to the official website, this series is "ideal for students and teachers looking for a sound pedagogical supplement or alternative to the study of classical piano literature."<ref>{{cite web |author=Chris Kemp, Vandelay Enterprises |url=http://www.christophernortonconnections.com/series_overview.html |title=Christopher Norton Connections™ - Series Overview |publisher=Christophernortonconnections.com |accessdate=2012-02-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120209225706/http://www.christophernortonconnections.com/series_overview.html |archive-date=2012-02-09 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
Norton has made production music albums for KPM and Cavendish Music.{{Citation needed|date=February 2008}} A recent venture with the Novus Via Music Group involves the creation of a piano series for North American students that offers traditional skills in the context of popular styles.
==References== {{reflist}}
== External links == * {{Official website|http://www.christophernorton.com}} * [http://www.boosey.com/pages/cr/composer/composer_main.asp?composerid=4968 Official publisher's webpage] * [http://www.boosey.com/pages/cr/features/seriesdetail.asp?seriesid=5 Official Microjazz webpage] published by Boosey & Hawkes * [http://www.NVmusicgroup.com Novus Via Music Group] * [http://www.christophernortonconnections.com Christopher Norton Connections for Piano] published by Frederick Harris Music *[https://news.google.com/archivesearch?q=%22christopher+norton%22+composer&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&btnG=Search+Archives Google News Archives]
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Norton, Christopher}} Category:1953 births Category:Living people Category:British composers Category:New Zealand composers Category:Male composers Category:University of Otago alumni