Gillian Weir
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Dame Gillian Constance Weir (born 17 January 1941) is a
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-British organist.


Biography

Weir was born in Martinborough, New Zealand, on 17 January 1941. Her parents were Clarice Mildred Foy ( Bignell) and Cecil Alexander Weir. She received her schooling at Queen's Park School, Wanganui Intermediate, and Wanganui Girls' College. When she was 19, she was a co-winner of the Auckland Star Piano Competition, playing
Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...
. A year later she won a scholarship of the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music in London. There, she studied with the concert pianist
Cyril Smith Sir Cyril Richard Smith (28 June 1928 – 3 September 2010) was a British Liberal Party and Liberal Democrat politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Rochdale from 1972 to 1992. Smith was first active in local politics as ...
and the renowned organist Ralph Downes, and in her second year (1964) won the prestigious St. Albans International Organ Competition. Weir made her début at the
Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London, England. It has a seating capacity of 5,272. Since the hall's opening by Queen Victoria in 1871, the world's leading artists from many performance genres ...
while still a student, as soloist in the Poulenc Organ Concerto, on the opening night of the 1965 season of the Promenade Concerts, and in the same year at the
Royal Festival Hall The Royal Festival Hall is a 2,700-seat concert, dance and talks venue within Southbank Centre in London, England. It is situated on the South Bank of the River Thames, not far from Hungerford Bridge, in the London Borough of Lambeth. It is a G ...
in recital, then the youngest organist to have performed there publicly. She returned to the Albert Hall to make the first recording on the great organ after the 2004 rebuild. In 1967, she married Clive Rowland Webster. The marriage was dissolved in 1972. In 1972, she married Lawrence Irving Phelps, an American organ builder.


Messiaen

Her performance in 1964 of a work by
Olivier Messiaen Olivier Eugène Prosper Charles Messiaen (, ; ; 10 December 1908 – 27 April 1992) was a French composer, organist, and ornithology, ornithologist. One of the major composers of the 20th-century classical music, 20th century, he was also an ou ...
occurred at a time when his music was little-known outside France and she became particularly associated with this composer; she has several times performed his complete works in series. Her recording for Collins Classics (new re-release for Priory Records on 2002) was hailed as "one of the major recording triumphs of the century" in ''In Tune Magazine''. Her distinguished position as a Messiaen interpreter has been reinforced by her CD release of his complete organ works to great acclaim as well as by her contribution to Faber's ''The Messiaen Companion'' and other publications. At Messiaen's request, she gave the first UK performance in January 1973 of the '' Méditations sur le Mystère de la Sainte Trinité'' at the
Royal Festival Hall The Royal Festival Hall is a 2,700-seat concert, dance and talks venue within Southbank Centre in London, England. It is situated on the South Bank of the River Thames, not far from Hungerford Bridge, in the London Borough of Lambeth. It is a G ...
from a
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of the composer's manuscript, given to her after he gave the world premiere in Washington D.C. Her series of six weekly recitals in
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of Messiaen's organ works in 1998, the 90th anniversary of his birth, brought huge audiences, and for her performances she was awarded the Evening Standard Award for Outstanding Solo Performance, the first organist to have been so honoured.


Recordings

Weir's artistry was marked in 1999 by the re-issue on CD of her series of Argo recordings, and her nomination by ''Classic CD'' magazine as one of the 100 Greatest Players of the Century, and by ''
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'' as one of the 1000 Music Makers of the Millennium. In December 2000, ITV's '' South Bank Show'' chronicled her worldwide activities as performer, teacher and recording artist.


Television

Weir performed in her own six-part television series ''King of Instruments'' for the BBC in 1989; it drew large audiences in Great Britain.


Honours and awards

* 1975: Elected Honorary 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 ...
, London (Hon. FRCO) * 1977: First woman elected to the Council of the Royal College of Organists * 1981: International Performer of the Year, elected by the American Guild of Organists, New York City * 1981–83: First woman President of the Incorporated Association of Organists * 1982: Elected Musician of the Year by the International Music Guide * 1982: Elected Honorary Member of the International Music Sorority
Sigma Alpha Iota Sigma Alpha Iota () is an international music fraternity. It was established in 1903 at the University School of Music in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Sigma Alpha Iota is a member of the National Interfraternity Music Council and the Professional Frater ...
* 1983: Elected Honorary Fellow of the Royal Canadian College of Organists (Hon FRCCO) * 1983: Awarded honorary Doctor of Music from the University of Victoria,
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, New Zealand (Hon D.Mus.) * 1985: First musician to receive the Turnovsky Foundation Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Arts * 1989: Appointed
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(CBE) in the 1989 Queen's Birthday Honours, for services to music * 1989: Elected Honorary Member of the
Royal Academy of Music The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is one of the oldest music schools 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 firs ...
, London (Hon. RAM) * 1992–93: President of the Incorporated Society of Musicians, England * 1993: Trustee of the Eric Thompson Charitable Trust for Organists and Organ Music * 1994–96: First woman president of the Royal College of Organists, England * 1996: Promoted
Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...
(DBE) in the 1996 New Year Honours, for services to music * 1997–98: Visiting professor of the Royal Academy of Music, London * 1997: Awarded honorary doctorate by the
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(Hon D.Litt.) * 1998: Awarded Silver Medal by the
Albert Schweitzer Ludwig Philipp Albert Schweitzer (; 14 January 1875 – 4 September 1965) was a German and French polymath from Alsace. He was a theologian, organist, musicologist, writer, humanitarian, philosopher, and physician. As a Lutheran minister, ...
Association (Sweden) * 1998–present: President of the Soloist's Ensemble * 1998: Patron of the Oundle International Festival * 1999: Appointed the Prince Consort Professor in Organ,
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 ...
, London * 1999: March 1999 – Winner of the Evening Standard Award for Outstanding Solo Performance in 1998 * 1999: July 1999 – Awarded honorary doctorate by the
University of Hull The University of Hull is a public research university in Kingston upon Hull, a city in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It was founded in 1927 as University College Hull. The main university campus is located in Hull and is home to the Hu ...
(Hon D.Mus.) * 1999: Patron of Friends of Young Artists' Platform * 1999–present: Patron of the
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Early Music Festival * 2000: November 2000 – Elected Fellow of the Royal College of Music, London (FRCM) * 2000: December 2000 – Subject of television documentary profile by the South Bank Show ( ITV) * 2001: February 2001 – Awarded honorary doctorate by the
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(Hon D.Mus.) * 2001: Awarded honorary doctorate by
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(Hon Doctor of the university) * 2003: Awarded honorary doctorate by the
University of Leicester The University of Leicester ( ) is a public university, public research university based in Leicester, England. The main campus is south of the city centre, adjacent to Victoria Park, Leicester, Victoria Park. The university's predecessor, Univ ...
(Hon D.Mus.) * 2004: Awarded honorary doctorate by the
University of Aberdeen The University of Aberdeen (abbreviated ''Aberd.'' in List of post-nominal letters (United Kingdom), post-nominals; ) is a public university, public research university in Aberdeen, Scotland. It was founded in 1495 when William Elphinstone, Bis ...
(Hon D.Mus.) * 2006: Elected Member of the Senior Common Room at the
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and
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,
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* 2009: Elected Member of the Senior Common Room at the College of St Hild and St Bede,
Durham University Durham University (legally the University of Durham) is a collegiate university, collegiate public university, public research university in Durham, England, founded by an Act of Parliament (UK), Act of Parliament in 1832 and incorporated by r ...
* 2009: Awarded honorary doctorate by the
University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...
(Hon D.Mus.) * 2011: Awarded Arts Foundation of New Zealand Icon Award


References


External links


Gillian Weir's website






{{DEFAULTSORT:Weir, Gillian 1941 births Living people English classical organists New Zealand women organists Musicians awarded damehoods New Zealand classical organists Musicians from Auckland Alumni of the Royal College of Music Academics of the Royal College of Music Honorary members of the Royal Academy of Music Fellows of the Royal College of Organists New Zealand Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire People from Martinborough People educated at Whanganui Girls' College New Zealand music educators New Zealand women music educators 21st-century organists 21st-century English women musicians Presidents of the Independent Society of Musicians