Ernest Read

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(22 February 1879 – 9 October 1965) was an English

conductor Conductor or conduction may refer to: Music * Conductor (music), a person who leads a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra. * ''Conductor'' (album), an album by indie rock band The Comas * Conduction, a type of structured free improvisation ...

organist An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ. An organist may play solo organ works, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumental soloists. In addition, an organist may accompany congregational ...

, and

music educator Music education is a field of practice in which educators are trained for careers as elementary or secondary music teachers, school or music conservatory ensemble directors. Music education is also a research area in which scholars do original ...

. He had a profound impact on the development of music education within England during the first half of the 20th century, and published several books on music pedagogy. He was named a

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

in 1956. Read was born in

Guildford Guildford () is a town in west Surrey, around southwest of central London. As of the 2011 census, the town has a population of about 77,000 and is the seat of the wider Borough of Guildford, which had around inhabitants in . The name "Guildf ...

. From 1896 to 1906 he studied at the

Royal Academy of Music The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is the oldest conservatoire in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the first Duke ...

under

Tobias Matthay Tobias Augustus Matthay (19 February 185815 December 1945) was an English pianist, teacher, and composer. Biography Matthay was born in Clapham, Surrey, in 1858 to parents who had come from northern Germany and eventually became naturalised Bri ...

and

Henry Joseph Wood Sir Henry Joseph Wood (3 March 186919 August 1944) was an English conductor best known for his association with London's annual series of promenade concerts, known as the The Proms, Proms. He conducted them for nearly half a century, introd ...

. He served as the principal of the

Watford School of Music Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne. Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, a ...

from 1913-1920. He also taught conducting and ear training on the faculty of the RAM from 1919–1950. Two of his notable students were

Edwin Bélanger Edwin Bélanger (18 November 1910 – 14 January 2005) was a Canadian conductor, violinist, violist, arranger, and music educator. He had an association with the Orchestre Symphonique de Québec for more than 50 years, including serving as th ...

and William Ifor Jones. In 1926 he founded the

London Junior Orchestra London is the capital and 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 down to the North Sea, and has been a major se ...

, one of the earliest youth symphonies in England.Lynda MacGregor: "Read, Ernest"
''oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic'' (restricted access), accessed 2 July 2018 That orchestra spawned 4 more youth orchestras in the city of London and 11 affiliate youth orchestras throughout Great Britain. In 1931 Read founded the

Ernest Read Symphony Orchestra Ernest is a given name derived from Germanic languages, Germanic word ''ernst'', meaning "serious". Notable people and fictional characters with the name include: People *Archduke Ernest of Austria (1553–1595), son of Maximilian II, Holy Roman ...

(ERSO), a professional orchestra with a commitment to performing concerts accessible to children as well as adults. He conducted the orchestra up until his death 34 years later, taking it to concerts in schools, concert halls and for the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

. For some years (running until the late 1990s) the related organisation ERMA (Ernest Read Music Association) ran summer schools for talented musical students and keen adult amateur musicians. These primarily featured orchestras playing the large-scale symphonic orchestral repertoire, but also with associated choral, conducting, percussion and listeners' courses. These took place initially at

Queenswood School Queenswood School is a girls-only independent school located near Hatfield, Hertfordshire, twenty miles from London. It offers admission at ages 11, 13 or 16 (for sixth form). The '' Good Schools Guide'' 2013 described Queenswood as "a girls ...

, Herts, then ran for a while at

Roedean School Roedean School is an independent day and boarding school founded in 1885 in Roedean Village on the outskirts of Brighton, East Sussex, England, and governed by Royal Charter. It is for girls aged 11 to 18. The campus is situated near the Sus ...

, and latterly at

St Mary's School, Wantage St Mary's School was an independent day and boarding girls' school located in Wantage, Oxfordshire, England. In 2007 it merged with Heathfield School to become Heathfield St Mary's School (later reverted to Heathfield) and the Wantage site was ...

. Read was a keen exponent of

Dalcroze Eurhythmics Dalcroze eurhythmics, also known as the Dalcroze method or simply eurhythmics, is one of several developmental approaches including the Kodály method, Orff Schulwerk and Suzuki Method used to teach music to students. Eurhythmics was developed ...

, a holistic approach to music through bodily movement, developed by Swiss musician

Émile Jaques-Dalcroze Émile Jaques-Dalcroze (6 July 1865 – 1 July 1950) was a Swiss composer, musician, and music educator who developed Dalcroze eurhythmics, an approach to learning and experiencing music through movement. Dalcroze eurhythmics influenced Carl Or ...

. In 1945 he established the lauded Ernest Read Concerts for Children, which ran until the late 1990s. ERSO remain active today (2015).facebook - ERSO including concert listings
''facebook.com'', accessed 2 July 2018 Read died, aged 86, in

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 ...

Sources

*Walsh, Stephen. 2001. "Read, Ernest." ''

The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians. Along with the German-language ''Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart'', it is one of the largest reference works on the history and the ...

'', 2nd edition. London: MacMillan.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Read, Ernest 1879 births 1965 deaths Academics of the Royal Academy of Music Alumni of the Royal Academy of Music Commanders of the Order of the British Empire English conductors (music) British male conductors (music) English organists British male organists British music educators