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Jay Wilcox
Jay's music is "like Morten Lauridsen, Herbert Howells, and William H. Harris walked into a bar and shared a really good bottle of claret."
– Nicholas J. White, composer/conductor
Jay Wilcox, composer
Choral music for choirs of all sizes and abilities
Jay’s music has been performed by the Choir of St. Thomas Episcopal Church, Fifth Avenue, New York, the Chorus and brass ensemble of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, and choral societies across Britain and the United States.
Paraclete Press has published his music, including Welcome All Wonders (available in versions for choir with brass quintet and choir with organ) and O sacrum convivium, with two Advent anthems forthcoming.
In 2025, the Director of the Chorus of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, commissioned Jay's Canticle of Creation, for choir, two pianos, and percussion ensemble, for the Garleton Singers. This work was premiered in June 2026. Premieres are currently scheduled for Sweden and Denmark in October 2026.
Comments from other musicians
"A general comment that occurs to me, every time I see one of your works, is that you have struck a lovely niche in the repertoire by producing music that falls into a manageable level of difficulty, approachable by a young Chapel Choir like mine at SPS, where Howells and some of the other great Anglican composers can be a bit of a stretch. Your Souls of the Righteous gave my choir the chance to sing something that reflects the melodic and harmonic palette in Howells St. Paul's Service, Rutter’s Out of the Deep (Requiem) and all-American composers like Stephen Paulus, a bit of Lauridsen, and Frank Ticheli (i.e. later Barber, Copland, Thompson.) It gives relatively novice singers the chance to luxuriate in those beautiful textures and colors." Nicholas J. White, composer/conductor
"What I like about your music, and Welcome All Wonders specifically, is that it peppers the texture with just a dusting of Lydian modality and unresolved 2nds, but also uses the organ to great effect . . . not just through-composed . . . [but] like Bairstow Blessed City, and splashes some Howells around too. Then, you incorporate great melodies, and you write well for voices. I think you have a winning style, and it reveals itself fully in this piece." Stephen J. Doughty, Director of the Chorus of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra.
Composer Gregory N. Leet called Jay’s music “gorgeous, inspiring, uplifting, sophisticated and subtle.”
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