Russell Churney

10^th September 1964 – 27^th February 2007

Russell first worked with Ensemble, in 2001, to create its first production, Portraits in Song – Edith Piaf and Bertolt Brecht. His piano arrangements for this piece were remarkable and at every single performance of the show's several UK tours, his playing was superb.

A tribute from Elizabeth Mansfield

The first time Russell played for me was at a benefit gig for the Hackney Empire. He was there, looking cool, with Julian Clary, and I was dressed up as Marie Lloyd! He was charming, reassuring, the perfect gentleman, so kind, so funny (as always) and he played 'The Boy I Love is Up in the Gallery' as though he'd been playing it all his life. But we didn't really work together until we did Portraits in Song, which we performed together over 6 years. Russell's work on this piece was extraordinary: his imagination at the keyboard, his consummate skill, his precision, his uncanny way of 'breathing' the music. He was always right there. Unequivocally. We performed the show, for the last time, at the New End, in the spring of 2006, when he was so ill. It was a very great privilege to work with him always, but his bravery, then, blew me away. Russell was incomparable and is irreplaceable.

The Times obituary

Read the online version of Russell Churney's obituary on The Times website.