Douglas Clarke (4 April 1893 – 14 November 1962)"Douglas Clarke"
The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved 1 December 2019. was an English organist, conductor, composer and academic. For most of his career he lived in Canada, where in Montreal he was an academic at

McGill University McGill University (French: Université McGill) is an English-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill University, Vol. I. For the Advancement of Learning, ...

and conductor of the Montreal Orchestra.

Life

Clarke was born in

Reading, Berkshire Reading ( ) is a town and borough in Berkshire, England, and the county town of Berkshire. It is the United Kingdom's largest town, with a combined population of 355,596. Most of Reading built-up area, its built-up area lies within the Borough ...

in 1893. During the First World War he was a commissioned officer in the Royal Navy. He became a fellow of the

Royal College of Organists The Royal College of Organists (RCO) is a charity and membership organisation based in the United Kingdom, with members worldwide. Its role is to promote and advance organ playing and choral music, and it offers music education, training and de ...

in 1920. At 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 ...

he obtained BMus and MA degrees; he was appointed organ scholar at

Christ's College, Cambridge Christ's College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college includes the Master, the Fellows of the College, and about 450 undergraduate and 250 graduate students. The c ...

in 1923."Clarke, Douglas". Percy A. Scholes, ''The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music''. OUP 1964. In 1927 he moved to Canada, where in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

he was a choral conductor, and organist at Holy Trinity Church. In 1930 he became dean of the Faculty of Music at

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

. He was conductor of the Montreal Orchestra from its formation in 1930 until its dissolution in 1941; during this time, the orchestra introduced works by British composers, and works from the standard repertoire not previously heard in Montreal. He retired from the university in 1955; returning to England, he lived in

Warwick Warwick ( ) is a market town, civil parish and the county town of Warwickshire in the Warwick District in England, adjacent to the River Avon, Warwickshire, River Avon. It is south of Coventry, and south-east of Birmingham. It is adjoined wit ...

where he was organist of St Mary's Church. He died in Warwick in 1962.

Compositions

His compositions ''Three Pieces'' were performed by the Montreal Orchestra in 1931, and ''Piece for Full Orchestra'' in 1936. Several works for choir have been published.

References

1893 births 1962 deaths Royal Navy officers of World War I Royal Navy officers Military personnel from Reading, Berkshire Musicians from Reading, Berkshire 20th-century English organists English classical organists 20th-century British conductors (music) English conductors (music) Fellows of the Royal College of Organists {{England-musician-stub