OW, Tarik O'Regan's recent visit to Whitgift

Tarik attended Whitgift from 1989 to 1996 and “was always found in the Music department studying scores”, as reminisced by Mr Winter (Head of Orchestral Music.) After leaving Whitgift, Tarik completed his music studies at University of Oxford, before moving to University of Cambridge to study composition.  

After a brief career in investment banking, Tarik followed his passion for music and became a composer full time, which has taken him all around the world and allowed him to create music inspired by different cultures. 

Tarik was commissioned to compose the ‘Agnus Dei’ for the Coronation service. He explained that he wanted to explore influences from his varied heritages within the context of the British choral tradition. He used a unison melody that he slowly fragmented to create myriad timbres, reminiscent of some Arab and Irish traditional music. This melodic shifting in the piece is similar to 'phase music', which is strongly connected with San Francisco where he wrote the composition. Finally, he used an alternating verse anthem structure, as a nod to Orlando Gibbons, who became Organist of Westminster Abbey 400 years ago. 

During his visit to Whitgift, Tarik listened to various music students' fanfare compositions and provided valuable feedback. Tarik was impressed with all the students' work, commenting “It is really great to see all the work Whitgift is producing to such a high quality.” 

Mr Winter explained “Tarik has a unique style and I can see why he has been chosen out of such a competitive field of brilliant composers from the UK and beyond.” 

The Whitgift community congratulates Tarik on this amazing achievement. Listen out for his composition during the Agnus Dei on Saturday 6 May.