Sir Philip Ledger (1937 - 2012)
Philip Ledger was born in Bexhill-on-Sea, East Sussex in 1937, and went to King's College to study music in 1956. He obtained a double first in the music tripos (1960) and a distinction in the MusB (1961).
After he left, he was appointed Master of Music at Chelmsford Cathedral, and was at that time the youngest cathedral organist in the country.
In 1963 the University of East Anglia was created and Sir Philip had the opportunity to further his career. He became the Director of Music there in 1965 and was Dean of its School of Fine Arts and Music between 1968 and 1971. It was during this latter period that he helped establish the university's award-winning music centre, which opened in 1973.
It was also during this period that he became an artistic director of the Aldeburgh Festival, with Benjamin Britten and Peter Pears. He gave first performances of works by Britten, became a close friend of his, and later played the organ at Britten's funeral.
In 1974 Sir Philip succeeded Sir David Willcocks as Director of Music at King's. He enhanced the reputation of the Choir through a series of critically-acclaimed recordings, including the popular Psalms of David disc, and through international tours that took the Choir to the US, Australia and Japan.
He continued to develop the Christmas Eve service, A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols, and wrote new arrangements of traditional carols such as Adam lay ybounden, which have become popular settings.
But it was not just at King's that Sir Philip had an influence. He was a university lecturer and teacher, and conductor of the Cambridge University Musical Society from 1973 to 1982, and brought his energy and rigorous standards to a generation of Cambridge musicians.
Sir Philip left King's in 1982 and became Principal of the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, where he stayed until his retirement in 2001. He continued to compose cantatas and carols as well as more substantial work, such as the Requiem (A Thanksgiving for Life).
Sir Philip Ledger died aged 74. He was an outstanding and versatile musician.
After he left, he was appointed Master of Music at Chelmsford Cathedral, and was at that time the youngest cathedral organist in the country.
In 1963 the University of East Anglia was created and Sir Philip had the opportunity to further his career. He became the Director of Music there in 1965 and was Dean of its School of Fine Arts and Music between 1968 and 1971. It was during this latter period that he helped establish the university's award-winning music centre, which opened in 1973.
It was also during this period that he became an artistic director of the Aldeburgh Festival, with Benjamin Britten and Peter Pears. He gave first performances of works by Britten, became a close friend of his, and later played the organ at Britten's funeral.
In 1974 Sir Philip succeeded Sir David Willcocks as Director of Music at King's. He enhanced the reputation of the Choir through a series of critically-acclaimed recordings, including the popular Psalms of David disc, and through international tours that took the Choir to the US, Australia and Japan.
He continued to develop the Christmas Eve service, A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols, and wrote new arrangements of traditional carols such as Adam lay ybounden, which have become popular settings.
But it was not just at King's that Sir Philip had an influence. He was a university lecturer and teacher, and conductor of the Cambridge University Musical Society from 1973 to 1982, and brought his energy and rigorous standards to a generation of Cambridge musicians.
Sir Philip left King's in 1982 and became Principal of the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, where he stayed until his retirement in 2001. He continued to compose cantatas and carols as well as more substantial work, such as the Requiem (A Thanksgiving for Life).
Sir Philip Ledger died aged 74. He was an outstanding and versatile musician.
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Honours |
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Ledger was also noted for his original compositions and arrangements, particularly for choir. After succeeding David Wilcocks as director at King's, he wrote a number of new descants and arrangements of Christmas carols, as well as new settings of popular texts such as Adam lay ybounden and A Spotless Rose His arrangement of This Joyful Eastertide for mixed voices and organ has been widely performed and broadcast. Many of his compositions and editions were published by Oxford University Press, Encore Publications, the Lorenz Corporation (USA), and the Royal School of Church Music. His Requiem (A Thanksgiving for Life) is written for soprano and tenor soloists with mixed choir and may be performed with orchestra or with chamber ensemble or with organ.
The first recording devoted entirely to his choral compositions, including his Requiem - A Thanksgiving for Life was made on 7 and 8 December 2008 by Christ's College Chapel Choir, Cambridge, directed by David Rowland and Ledger. An album (Regent Records) was released 16 November 2009. Ledger also composed an Easter cantata with carols entitled The Risen Christ, premiered in the US at Washington National Cathedral on 7 May 2011, and premiered in the UK performance at evensong in Canterbury Cathedral on 8 May 2011. In 2012, Ledger composed another cantata, "This Holy Child", which was premiered on 16 December 2012 at the morning church service at First Presbyterian Church, Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. |
Philip Ledger was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 1985 New Years Honours and knighted in the Queen`s Birthday Honours in 1999 for services to music. He received honorary doctorates from the universities of Strathclyde, Central England, Glasgow and St. Andrews, and from the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama. He was president of the Royal College of Organists from 1992 to 1994 and President of the Incorporated Society of Musicians from 1994 to 1995, and a patron of Bampton Classical Opera..
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