Douglas Guest

Douglas Albert Guest CVO (9 May 1916 18 November 1996) was an English organist, conductor, teacher and composer.

Education

Guest was born in Mortomley, Sheffield, Yorkshire, England and studied originally at the Royal College of Music and became Organ Scholar of the King's College, Cambridge from 1935 until 1939.

Career

During the Second World War he served as a Major in the Royal Artillery. His first major appointment came in 1945 as Director of Music at Uppingham School. From there he became Organist of Salisbury Cathedral, a post which he held from 1950 until 1957, before moving to become Organist and Master of the Choristers at Worcester Cathedral. His final post was as Organist and Master of the Choristers at Westminster Abbey from 1963 until 1981.

Compositions and Awards

His most well-known composition is a setting of Lawrence Binyon's poem, "For the Fallen", composed in 1971 for the Choir of Westminster Abbey. He also composed music for the organ, including a Voluntary for Easter, composed in 1956. His other appointments have included being professor at the Royal College of Music, and as an examiner for both the Royal College of Organists and the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music. In 1975 he was appointed CVO.

External links

Cultural offices
Preceded by
David Willcocks
Organist and Master of the Choristers of Salisbury Cathedral
1950-1957
Succeeded by
Christopher Hugh Dearnley
Preceded by
David Willcocks
Organist and Master of the Choristers of Worcester Cathedral
1957-1963
Succeeded by
Christopher Robinson
Preceded by
William Neil McKie
Organist and Master of the Choristers of Westminster Abbey
1963–1981
Succeeded by
Simon Preston
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Tuesday, March 29, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.