Brian Lewis Trowell (21 February 1931 – 12 November 2015) was an English musicologist and the

Heather Professor of Music The Heather Professor of Music is the title of an endowed chair at the University of Oxford. The post and the funding for it come from a bequest by William Heather (c. 1563 – 1627). Following the example of his friend William Camden who had left ...

at the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

. Prior to his post at Oxford, he was the

King Edward Professor of Music The King Edward Professorship of Music was established at the University of London in 1902 with an endowment of £5,000 from Trinity College of Music. King Edward VII granted permission for his name to be associated with the professorship. Since 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 ...

. In the mid-1980s, he served as president of the

Royal Musical Association The Royal Musical Association (RMA) is a British scholarly society and charity. Founded in 1874, the Association claims to be the second oldest musicological society in the world, after that of the Netherlands. Activities include organizing and s ...

Education

Brian Trowell was born in

Wokingham Wokingham ( ) is a market town and civil parish in Berkshire, England. It is the main administrative centre of the wider Borough of Wokingham. At the 2021 census the parish had a population of 38,284 and the wider built-up area had a populati ...

in 1931. He received his BA from the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

in 1953, and a doctorate there in 1960, under

Thurston Dart Robert Thurston Dart (3 September 1921 – 6 March 1971) was an English musicologist, conductor and keyboard player. Along with Nigel Fortune, Oliver Neighbour and Stanley Sadie, he was one of Britain's leading musicologists of the post-World W ...

Career

Trowell taught at

Birmingham University The University of Birmingham (informally Birmingham University) is a Public university, public research university in Birmingham, England. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Queen's College, Birmingham (founded in 1825 as ...

from 1957 to 1962, at

in 1964–64, was Director of Opera at the

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

in 1963–67, became the

Gresham Professor of Music The Professor of Music at Gresham College, London, gives free educational lectures to the general public. The college was founded for this purpose in 1597, when it created seven professorships; this was later increased to ten. Music is one of the o ...

, and from 1967 to 1970 was the Head of Radio Opera at the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

. He returned to King's College in 1970 and was the King Edward VII Professor of Music there from 1974 to 1988. When

Denis Arnold Denis Midgley Arnold (Sheffield, 15 December 1926 – Budapest, 28 April 1986) was a British musicologist. Biography After being employed in the extramural department of Queen's University, Belfast, he became a Lecturer in Music at the Univer ...

, the Heather Professor of Music at Oxford (1974–1986) died in 1986, Trowell eventually succeeded him and took the Heather Professor chair at Oxford in 1988. His scholarship focussed on

Edward Elgar Sir Edward William Elgar, 1st Baronet, (; 2 June 1857 – 23 February 1934) was an English composer, many of whose works have entered the British and international classical concert repertoire. Among his best-known compositions are orchestr ...

, among other composers. Trowell served as president of the

1984 to 1989. He died in Oxford in 2015.

Selected publications

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References

1931 births 2015 deaths People from Wokingham Alumni of the University of Cambridge Academics of the University of Birmingham Academics of King's College London Academics of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama Academics of Gresham College Heather Professors of Music English musicologists {{Musicologist-stub