Christopher Gould read music at Clare College, Cambridge before taking up a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music to study accompaniment with John Streets, Malcolm Martineau and Gareth Hancock, supported by The Countess of Munster Musical Trust. On graduating he was awarded the Her Royal Princess Alice’s Prize for outstanding contribution to the Royal Academy of Music and in 2001 he was made an Associate. He was the first young pianist to receive an award from The Geoffrey Parsons Trust in 1996; this was followed by the first prize in the two most prestigious accompaniment competitions: the Gerald Moore Award (1998) and the Wigmore International Song Competition (2001).
Christopher divides his time between a busy performing career and freelance vocal coaching, and has acted as staff pianist and coach for various international schools including the Britten-Pears School and the Jette Parker Artists Programme at the Royal Opera House. In the UK he has performed with such artists as Sarah Walker, Ann Murray, Lorraine Hunt Lieberson, Roderick Williams and Geraldine McGreevy at the Wigmore Hall, St Johns Smith Square, the Purcell Room and on BBC Radio 3. Concerts abroad have included recitals at the Aix-en-Provence Festival, the Opera House in Lille, and in Italy, Israel and Japan.
Christopher has released several discs as both sound engineer and pianist. His broad discography includes song recordings with Daniel Norman, Roderick Williams, William Towers and Catherine Wyn-Rogers. Recently released are Sonnets, a disc of songs by Britten, Liszt and Dankworth with Daniel Norman, Glorious Quest, an album with Rodney Earl Clark featuring hits from the Golden Age of Broadway musicals, and A New Dawn with Tarsha Cole and Alla Kravkuch, featuring songs in German, French and Russian Russian to bring new hope for 2021. Leaves from the Tree of Life, Christopher’s latest release with tenor Norbert Meyn and Ensemble Émigré, is a premier recording of works by the neglected composer Robert Kahn, receiving a 5-star review by BBC Music Magazine.
Future plans include the release of a disc of songs by Noël Coward and Ivor Novello with Angela Henckel, concerts with The Lammas Trio, and the launch of a new song recital series in Hertfordshire.