James Michael "Jim" Parker (born 16 December 1934) is a BAFTA-winning British

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Def ...

Career

After graduating as a silver medallist at the

Guildhall School of Music The Guildhall School of Music and Drama is a conservatoire and drama school located in the City of London, United Kingdom. Established in 1880, the school offers undergraduate and postgraduate training in all aspects of classical music and ja ...

, Parker played with leading

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

orchestras An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, ce ...

and

chamber Chamber or the chamber may refer to: In government and organizations *Chamber of commerce, an organization of business owners to promote commercial interests *Legislative chamber, in politics *Debate chamber, the space or room that houses deliber ...

groups as well as being a key part of The Barrow Poets for whom he provided both original instrumental music and music to accompany the performance of a wide range of poetry spoken or sung by the rest of the band. This music was played on a variety of instruments including the bass cacacofiddle, a home made sort of

double bass The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or #Terminology, by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched Bow (music), bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox addit ...

with knobs on, played by William Bealby-Wright, while Parker mostly played

oboe The oboe ( ) is a type of double reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common oboe plays in the treble or soprano range. ...

and

cor anglais The cor anglais (, or original ; plural: ''cors anglais''), or English horn in North America, is a double-reed woodwind instrument in the oboe family. It is approximately one and a half times the length of an oboe, making it essentially an al ...

.. Parker subsequently concentrated on composing and conducting. He had early success with a series of recordings in which he set the poems of the British

Poet Laureate A poet laureate (plural: poets laureate) is a poet officially appointed by a government or conferring institution, typically expected to compose poems for special events and occasions. Albertino Mussato of Padua and Francesco Petrarca (Petrarch ...

Sir

John Betjeman Sir John Betjeman (; 28 August 190619 May 1984) was an English poet, writer, and broadcaster. He was Poet Laureate from 1972 until his death. He was a founding member of The Victorian Society and a passionate defender of Victorian architecture ...

to music; ''Banana Blush'', ''Late Flowering Love'' (both 1974), ''Sir John Betjeman's Britain'' (1977) and ''Varsity Rag'' (1981). The albums, in which the poet recited his own words and the composer conducted a small group of musicians, have continued to be held in high regard by listeners and critics. These and subsequent records, including Captain Beaky, with words by Jeremy Lloyd, which topped the charts as both a single and album, led to work in television as well as in London West End theatres, where Parker has had three musicals produced. The most successful of these was "Follow the Star", with book and lyrics by Wally K Daly. It was originally produced at Chichester and was directed by

Wendy Toye Beryl May Jessie Toye, (1 May 1917 – 27 February 2010), known professionally as Wendy Toye, was a British dancer, stage and film director and actress. Life and career Toye was born in London. She initially worked as a dancer and choreographer ...

Film and television

Film scores include music for numerous feature-length television films and for new prints of the classic silent films '' Girl Shy'', by

Harold Lloyd Harold Clayton Lloyd, Sr. (April 20, 1893 – March 8, 1971) was an American actor, comedian, and stunt performer who appeared in many silent comedy films.Obituary '' Variety'', March 10, 1971, page 55. One of the most influential film c ...

, and '' The Blot'', a 1921 film directed by

Lois Weber Florence Lois Weber (June 13, 1879 – November 13, 1939) was an American silent film actress, screenwriter, producer and director. She is identified in some historical references as among "the most important and prolific film directors in the e ...

. He has won the

British Academy Award The British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTA Film Awards is an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to honour the best British and international contributions to film. The cere ...

for Best Original Television Music four times, and has written scores for over two hundred programmes. His work in

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmospher ...

and

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

ranges from music for ''

Moll Flanders ''Moll Flanders'' is a novel by Daniel Defoe, first published in 1722. It purports to be the true account of the life of the eponymous Moll, detailing her exploits from birth until old age. By 1721, Defoe had become a recognised novelist, wi ...

'', ''

Tom Jones Tom Jones may refer to: Arts and entertainment *Tom Jones (singer) (born 1940), Welsh singer *Tom Jones (writer) (1928–2023), American librettist and lyricist *''The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling'', a novel by Henry Fielding published in 1 ...

'', ''

Midsomer Murders ''Midsomer Murders'' is a British crime drama television series, adapted by Anthony Horowitz and Douglas Watkinson from the novels in the '' Chief Inspector Barnaby'' book series (created by Caroline Graham), and broadcast on two channels of ...

'', ''

Foyle's War ''Foyle's War'' is a British detective drama television series set during and shortly after the Second World War, created by ''Midsomer Murders'' screenwriter and author Anthony Horowitz and commissioned by ITV after the long-running series ...

'', ''

The House of Eliott ''The House of Eliott'' is a British television series produced and broadcast by the BBC in three series between 1991 and 1994. The series starred Stella Gonet as Beatrice Eliott and Louise Lombard as Evangeline Eliott, two sisters in 1920s Lon ...

'', and '' Mapp & Lucia'' to the score for the contemporary political thrillers ''

House of Cards A house of cards (also known as a card tower or card castle) is a structure created by stacking playing cards on top of each other, often in the shape of a pyramid. "House of cards" is also an expression that dates back to 1645 meaning a structu ...

'' (UK version), ''

To Play the King ''To Play the King'' is a 1993 BBC television serial and the second part of the '' House of Cards'' trilogy. Directed by Paul Seed, the serial was based on Michael Dobbs' 1993 novel of the same name and adapted for television by Andrew Davies. ...

'' and '' The Final Cut'' as well as the British children's series ''

Fourways Farm ''Fourways Farm'' is a 1994–1996 British children's stop-motion animated television series produced by Case Television and Dutch Education Television from the Netherlands, and aired on Channel 4 UK during Channel 4 Schools between 1994 and 1 ...

''. The opening and closing theme music for those TV series is entitled "Francis Urquhart's March." With Tom Stanier he wrote the music for schools programmes such as ''Watch'', ''Zig Zag'' and ''Fourways Farm'' plus musicals such as ''Blast Off: Mr Jones Goes To Jupiter''.

Concert works

Concert works have been written for the

Nash Ensemble The Nash Ensemble of London is an English chamber ensemble. It was founded by Artistic Director Amelia Freedman and Rodney Slatford in 1964, while they were students at the Royal Academy of Music, and was named after the Nash Terraces around t ...

, Philip Jones Brass,

The Hilliard Ensemble The Hilliard Ensemble was a British male vocal quartet originally devoted to the performance of early music. The group was named after the Elizabethan miniaturist painter Nicholas Hilliard. Founded in 1974, the group disbanded in 2014. Although ...

, The Albion Ensemble, The Wallace Collection and

Poems on the Underground Poems on the Underground (POTU) is a project, started in 1986, to bring poetry to a wider audience by displaying various poems on the London Underground rapid transit network and participating websites. Poems on the Underground displays poems by ...

. His published compositions include " A Londoner in New York" for

brass Brass is an alloy of copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn), in proportions which can be varied to achieve different mechanical, electrical, and chemical properties. It is a substitutional alloy: atoms of the two constituents may replace each other wi ...

, "Mississippi Five" for

wind quintet A wind quintet, also known as a woodwind quintet, is a group of five wind players (most commonly flute, oboe, clarinet, French horn and bassoon). Unlike the string quartet (of 4 string instruments) with its homogeneous blend of sound color, the in ...

, "

The Golden Section ''The Golden Section'' is a 1983 album by English musician John Foxx. A progression from the sound of '' The Garden'' (1981), Foxx called ''The Golden Section'' "a roots check: Beatles, Church music, Psychedelia, The Shadows, The Floyd, The ...

" for

brass quintet A brass quintet is a five-piece musical ensemble composed of brass instruments. The instrumentation for a brass quintet typically includes two trumpets or cornets, one French horn, one trombone or euphonium/baritone horn, and one tuba or bass t ...

, and a clarinet

concerto A concerto (; plural ''concertos'', or ''concerti'' from the Italian plural) is, from the late Baroque era, mostly understood as an instrumental composition, written for one or more soloists accompanied by an orchestra or other ensemble. The typ ...

. He is also the recipient of an honorary degree from the

Guildhall School of Music and Drama The Guildhall School of Music and Drama is a conservatoire and drama school located in the City of London, United Kingdom. Established in 1880, the school offers undergraduate and postgraduate training in all aspects of classical music and jazz ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Parker, Jim 1934 births Living people Alumni of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama BAFTA winners (people) British composers Musicians from County Durham People from Hartlepool