Gwyn Arch | |
---|---|
Born | 4 May 1931
Southampton |
Died | June 2021 (aged 89–90) |
Occupation | Composer, choir director |
Awards |
Gwyn Arch MBE (4 May 1931 – June 2021) was a British musical arranger, composer, and choir director.
Arch was born in Southampton on 4 May 1931, to a Welsh father. [1] He was raised in Birmingham and then Ipswich, where he attended secondary school. [1] After national service he studied English at Selwyn College, University of Cambridge. [2] [3] He played in jazz bands there and at University of Oxford, [3] where he took a postgraduate diploma in education. [2]
Arch taught English at Rickmansworth Grammar School for nine years, studying musical composition at Trinity College London in his spare time. [3] He was Director of Music at Bulmershe College from 1964 to 1985. [4] [5] In the 1960s he arranged music for BBC Home Service radio programmes for schools, and in the 1970s, he made several appearances, as a conductor, on the BBC Television programme Seeing and Believing. [6]
He was musical director of the South Chiltern Choral Society for almost 50 years, retiring in 2014. [7] In 1971 he established the Reading Male Voice Choir and served as the choir's musical director until 2015. [5] He was a Licentiate of the Royal Academy of Music, a Composition Fellow of Trinity College London, and for ten years an Associated Board examiner. [5] His oeuvre includes many arrangements of choral works and songs, in a wide variety of genres, for mixed ( SATB), male (TTBB), and female (SSA) choirs. [5] [8] He marketed many of his arrangements for male voice choirs as sheet music via his company Grove Music. [a] [9]
Arch was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2006 Birthday Honours, for services to music in Berkshire. [5] [10]
The Gwyn Arch Foundation was launched in his memory on 9 April 2022 at a celebration concert featuring several of the choirs he founded. It aims "to support the development and performance of choral music by and for young people within the Thames Valley". [11]
Arch met Jane, subsequently a head teacher, when he was at Oxford University, where he was musical director of the Experimental Theatre Club and she was in the choir. [4] They married two years later, and moved to Sonning Common in 1964. [4] Their elder son David Arch is also a conductor, arranger and composer and is the musical director on the BBC Television show Strictly Come Dancing. [4] Their younger son Jonathan has a daughter Lucy[ citation needed] who is a professional cellist, playing regularly with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra. [12]
Arch's death was announced on 8 June 2021. [13]
Gwyn Arch | |
---|---|
Born | 4 May 1931
Southampton |
Died | June 2021 (aged 89–90) |
Occupation | Composer, choir director |
Awards |
Gwyn Arch MBE (4 May 1931 – June 2021) was a British musical arranger, composer, and choir director.
Arch was born in Southampton on 4 May 1931, to a Welsh father. [1] He was raised in Birmingham and then Ipswich, where he attended secondary school. [1] After national service he studied English at Selwyn College, University of Cambridge. [2] [3] He played in jazz bands there and at University of Oxford, [3] where he took a postgraduate diploma in education. [2]
Arch taught English at Rickmansworth Grammar School for nine years, studying musical composition at Trinity College London in his spare time. [3] He was Director of Music at Bulmershe College from 1964 to 1985. [4] [5] In the 1960s he arranged music for BBC Home Service radio programmes for schools, and in the 1970s, he made several appearances, as a conductor, on the BBC Television programme Seeing and Believing. [6]
He was musical director of the South Chiltern Choral Society for almost 50 years, retiring in 2014. [7] In 1971 he established the Reading Male Voice Choir and served as the choir's musical director until 2015. [5] He was a Licentiate of the Royal Academy of Music, a Composition Fellow of Trinity College London, and for ten years an Associated Board examiner. [5] His oeuvre includes many arrangements of choral works and songs, in a wide variety of genres, for mixed ( SATB), male (TTBB), and female (SSA) choirs. [5] [8] He marketed many of his arrangements for male voice choirs as sheet music via his company Grove Music. [a] [9]
Arch was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2006 Birthday Honours, for services to music in Berkshire. [5] [10]
The Gwyn Arch Foundation was launched in his memory on 9 April 2022 at a celebration concert featuring several of the choirs he founded. It aims "to support the development and performance of choral music by and for young people within the Thames Valley". [11]
Arch met Jane, subsequently a head teacher, when he was at Oxford University, where he was musical director of the Experimental Theatre Club and she was in the choir. [4] They married two years later, and moved to Sonning Common in 1964. [4] Their elder son David Arch is also a conductor, arranger and composer and is the musical director on the BBC Television show Strictly Come Dancing. [4] Their younger son Jonathan has a daughter Lucy[ citation needed] who is a professional cellist, playing regularly with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra. [12]
Arch's death was announced on 8 June 2021. [13]