Paul Mealor: Campus Celeb!

This week Her Campus was so lucky to be able to interview an ACTUAL campus celeb- Paul Mealor! Though some of you may be scratching your head trying to place a face to the name, you will have definitely heard some of this composer’s works. Paul composed not only the Military Wives’ song ‘Wherever You Are’ but he also composed the Royal Wedding song for Prince William and Kate Middleton! Now, on top of working on more music projects, Paul is a lecturer at Aberdeen University- so let’s find out a bit more about our resident celeb!

Current location: Aberdeen, of course!

Age: 39

Position at Aberdeen Uni: Professor of Musical Composition

Okay, how about we start with something easy: First of all, can you tell us 3 facts about yourself that we can’t find on Wikipedia?

·      I own (or should I say, ‘serve’) a 23-year old Persian Cat called, Fred

·      I’m a huge Tolkien fan and learned to speak, Elvish.

·      Although I love classical music, the first album I ever bought was ‘Run to the Hills’ by Iron Maiden.

It sounds like Fred has you whipped! And I guess you never know when speaking Elvish could come in handy, right?

So tell us, where did your love of music, especially for music composition, stem from?

I fell into a river and nearly drowned at the age of nine. After being rescued, I felt an immense ‘call’ to write music. My parents then took me to the local Anglican Cathedral where I became a choirboy and fell in love with church music and singing. There’s nothing better than hearing your own compositions sung in an ancient building like Westminster Abbey… A spiritual experience indeed.

Wow, that is really something! Speaking of Westminster Abbey, how did you feel knowing that your composition Ubi Caritas et Amor was going to be used for the famous royal wedding between Prince William and Kate Middleton in 2011?

It was the most amazing feeling in the world and completely unexpected when the news came. I still have to pinch myself sometimes to see if I’m in a dream. A great honour and a huge pleasure.

We can’t even imagine how proud you must have felt. You’ve actually had several amazing successes in your career, from a Christmas No. 1 to being named ‘the nation’s favourite living composer’ – but what has been your absolute highlight from your career?

There’s been a lot to be grateful for in my career; but, the two things that really stand out for me and 1) getting the job here at Aberdeen – I love working with my talented students here, the city and the countryside, and 2) it simply has to be sitting in Westminster Abbey to hear my music sung at the Royal Wedding – a once in a lifetime occasion. 

We’re sure that your students feel very privileged to have you in Aberdeen!

Of course, you’ll listen to all sorts of things such as choral music and your own album but surely you must have a few guilty pleasures?

Lots of guilty pleasures – I love Country and Western music (Patsy Cline, Jonny Cash, etc), I love film music (John Williams and Danny Elfman) and I love soppy Romantic ballades (Bangles, ‘Eternal Flame’).

A fantastic range of guilty pleasures there, I’m sure there will be some HC readers out there nodding along in absolute agreement.

Do you have any exciting projects lined up for the near future?

Yes, lots of very exciting things in the pipeline which I really can’t talk about… You’ll find out soon… And, composing two symphonies!!

How secretive! We can’t wait to see what you come up with, be sure to keep us posted!

Finally, for those out there who want to become more musically active within the university, what words of advice or encouragement would you give? Are there any particular societies or concerts that we should be watching out for?

There’s loads of music at Aberdeen Uni – concerts run each week (see here: http://www.abdn.ac.uk/music/news-events.php ) and are often free or incredibly cheap for students, regardless of what you study. Also, loads of ensembles you can get involved in. The German writer, Berthold Auerbach said,

‘Music washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.’ So, get washing!

Thanks so much to our fabulous campus celeb, Paul Mealor!