Edward Simms (10 February 1800 - 15 January 1893) was an English organist and composer.

Background

He was the son of Edward Simms and born at Oldswinford, Worcestershire. He studied organ from an early age with his uncles at Stourbridge, and when ten assisted his uncle James Simms at Bromsgrove Parish Church. He went to London in 1810, and studied under Thomas Adams, and

Friedrich Kalkbrenner Friedrich Wilhelm Michael Kalkbrenner (2–8 November 1785 – 10 June 1849), also known as ''Frédéric Kalkbrenner'', was a pianist, composer, piano teacher and piano manufacturer. German by birth, Kalkbrenner studied at the Conservatoire d ...

. In Coventry he established the Coventry Choral Society around 1836. He had many pupils of distinction, including the novelist

George Eliot Mary Ann Evans (22 November 1819 – 22 December 1880; alternatively Mary Anne or Marian), known by her pen name George Eliot, was an English novelist, poet, journalist, translator, and one of the leading writers of the Victorian era. She wrot ...

, and it is to him that reference is made in

Middlemarch ''Middlemarch, A Study of Provincial Life'' is a novel by the English author Mary Anne Evans, who wrote as George Eliot. It first appeared in eight installments (volumes) in 1871 and 1872. Set in Middlemarch, a fictional English Midland town, i ...

, as the teacher of Rosamond Vincy.George Eliot. Mathilde Blind. Cambridge University Press, 2010 He composed numerous pieces, but published very little. He died in Coventry on 15 January 1893.

Appointments

*Organist of Wombourne Parish Church, Wolverhampton 1813 *Organist of Holy Trinity Church, Coventry 1821 – 1822 *Organist in Birmingham 1822 – 1825 *Organist of St John the Baptist Church, Coventry 1825 – 1828 *Organist of St. Michael’s Church, Coventry 1828 - 1886

Compositions

He composed numerous pieces, but not many were published.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Simms, Edward 1800 births 1893 deaths English organists British male organists English composers 19th-century British composers 19th-century English musicians 19th-century British male musicians 19th-century organists