Donald Greig was a boy chorister at Westminster Abbey and a choral scholar at Canterbury Cathedral, the latter whilst studying at Kent University. He graduated with a First in Film Studies and English and undertook an MA by thesis in film theory. For a while, he reviewed films, lectured in film studies and semiology and eventually submitted to a career as a professional singer.
He was a regular member of The Tallis Scholars for twenty-five years, as well as singing for groups such as Gothic Voices, Taverner Consort, Fretwork and the Gabrieli Consort, amongst many others. He was a founder-member of The Orlando Consort. Alongside his role as an early-music specialist, he is a versatile session singer, happy in a number of idioms, appearing on countless film soundtracks and in pop music. He has thus sung for – in no particular order – Joni Mitchell, Stephen Sondheim, Elton John, Björk and Sting.
His first novel, Time Will Tell, was published in 2013. He has contributed articles to several journals such as Screen and Early Music, as well as several chapters for academic books. He has given lectures at many universities including Harvard, Stanford, Notre Dame, Heidelberg and Georgetown. He is currently an Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Nottingham, where he received his doctorate in music, and is researching the various intersections of early music and cinema.
