Anthony Francis Dominic Milner (13 May 1925 – 22 September 2002) was a British composer, teacher and conductor. Milner was born in

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

, and educated at Douai School, Berkshire. He was awarded a bursary to attend the

Royal College of Music The Royal College of Music (RCM) is a conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the undergraduate to the doctoral level in all aspects of Western Music including pe ...

, where he studied piano with Herbert Fryer and theory with R. O. Morris. He studied composition privately with

Mátyás Seiber Mátyás György Seiber (, sometimes given as Matthis Seyber; 4 May 1905 – 24 September 1960) was a Hungarian-born British composer who lived and worked in the United Kingdom from 1935 onwards. His work linked many diverse musical influences, ...

. Milner's own teaching career began at

Morley College Morley College is a specialist adult education and further education college in London, England. The college has three main campuses, one in Waterloo on the South Bank, and two in West London namely in North Kensington and in Chelsea, the ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, where he taught music theory and history from 1948 to 1964. He was lecturer in music at

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV ...

, from 1965 to 1971, when he moved to

Goldsmiths' College Goldsmiths, University of London, formerly Goldsmiths College, University of London, is a constituent research university of the University of London. It was originally founded in 1891 as The Goldsmiths' Technical and Recreative Institute by ...

as senior lecturer, becoming principal lecturer in 1974. In 1980 he was appointed full-time principal lecturer at the Royal College, where he had taught part-time since 1962. He remained in this post until his retirement in 1989. Milner had close academic ties with

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

. Beginning in 1964, he gave frequent summer lecture tours in the

USA The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...

and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. Milner's teaching interests centred on twentieth-century

British music Throughout the history of the British Isles, the land that is now the United Kingdom has been a major music producer, drawing inspiration from church music and traditional folk music, using instruments from England, Scotland, Northern Irelan ...

and on sacred and

liturgical music Liturgical music originated as a part of religious ceremony, and includes a number of traditions, both ancient and modern. Liturgical music is well known as a part of Catholic Mass, the Anglican Holy Communion service (or Eucharist) and Evensong, ...

. He was Composer-in-Residence at the Summer School of Liturgical Music at

Loyola University New Orleans Loyola University New Orleans is a Private university, private Jesuit university in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. Originally established as Loyola College in 1904, the institution was chartered as a university in 1912. It bears the nam ...

in 1965 and 1966, and the first director of

Spode Music Week Spode is an English brand of pottery and homewares produced in Stoke-on-Trent, England. Spode was founded by Josiah Spode (1733–1797) in 1770, and was responsible for perfecting two important techniques that were crucial to the worldwide suc ...

, an annual residential Music school that places particular emphasis on the music of the Roman Catholic liturgy. In 1985

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

appointed Anthony Milner a Knight of St. Gregory, in recognition of his work for Catholic liturgical music. Milner's early compositions were influenced by

Michael Tippett Sir Michael Kemp Tippett (2 January 1905 – 8 January 1998) was an English composer who rose to prominence during and immediately after the Second World War. In his lifetime he was sometimes ranked with his contemporary Benjamin Britten as o ...

, who was Morley College's music director at the time of his appointment to the staff. As he developed his own voice, he continually sought new ways of expressing himself within an essentially tonal style. Contrapuntal rigour and the influence of plainsong are evident in most of his works.Cole, Hugo. 'Anthony Milner' in ''Grove Music Online'', 2001 Choral works with religious texts are central to his output. ''The Water and the Fire'' a dramatic oratorio, was premiered at the 1964

Three Choirs Festival 200px, Worcester cathedral 200px, Gloucester cathedral The Three Choirs Festival is a music festival held annually at the end of July, rotating among the cathedrals of the Three Counties (Hereford, Gloucester, and Worcester) and originally fe ...

in Hereford. A commission for the Leicestershire Schools Music Festival in 1967 resulted in a ''Te Deum'', first performed by th
Leicestershire Schools Symphony Orchestra and Chorus
in May 1967 under the direction of the composer. But there are also orchestral works, including the ''Variations for Orchestra'' (1959) and three Symphonies (1972, 1978 and 1986), and some chamber music. From 1954 to 1965 Milner was director and harpsichordist of the London Cantata Ensemble, with whom he gave the first broadcast performances in the UK of many

Buxtehude Buxtehude (; , ), officially the Hanseatic City of Buxtehude (), is a town on the Este River in Northern Germany, belonging to the district of Stade in Lower Saxony. It is part of the Hamburg Metropolitan Region and attached to the city's S-Ba ...

cantatas as well as frequently conducting performances of his own music. Milner was homosexual but non-practising due to his Catholic faith.

Illness/death

Milner was diagnosed with

multiple sclerosis Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune disease resulting in damage to myelinthe insulating covers of nerve cellsin the brain and spinal cord. As a demyelinating disease, MS disrupts the nervous system's ability to Action potential, transmit ...

in his 40s. As the illness progressed, composition became an increasingly difficult activity. His last work, the Oboe Concerto, was completed in 1994. He spent the last two years of his life in Spain and died there on 22 September 2002.
Milner obituary, musicweb-international.com; retrieved 17 October 2013.

References

External links

The Musical Times, ''Musical Times'' Obituary.
Leicestershire Schools Symphony Orchestra website
claudiorecords.com

1 October 2001 {{DEFAULTSORT:Milner, Anthony 1925 births 2002 deaths English classical composers English expatriates in Spain English Roman Catholics Musicians from Bristol Alumni of the Royal College of Music People educated at Douai School Academics of King's College London Academics of Goldsmiths, University of London Academics of the Royal College of Music Classical composers of church music Composers awarded knighthoods Knights of St. Gregory the Great Deaths from multiple sclerosis People with multiple sclerosis Neurological disease deaths in Spain 20th-century British classical composers 20th-century English musicians English people with disabilities