Herman Brearley (died 1940) was an English cathedral organist, who served in

Blackburn Cathedral Blackburn Cathedral, officially known as the Cathedral Church of Saint Mary the Virgin with Saint Paul, is an Anglican (Church of England) cathedral situated in the heart of Blackburn town centre, in Lancashire, England. The cathedral site has ...

Background

Herman Brearley was born in

Batley Batley is a market town in the Kirklees district, in West Yorkshire, England, south-west of Leeds, north-west of Wakefield and Dewsbury, south-east of Bradford and north-east of Huddersfield, in the Heavy Woollen District. In 2011, the popu ...

, Yorkshire. In 1905 he and his wife lived in Hastings. He was a chorister and then assistant organist at

Lichfield Cathedral Lichfield Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of Saint Mary and Saint Chad in Lichfield, is a Church of England cathedral in the city of Lichfield, England. It is the seat of the bishop of Lichfield and the principal church of the diocese ...

. He was appointed Conductor of the Preston Choral Society in 1918, and conductor of the Blackburn Philharmonic Choral Society in 1922. He was also the Conductor of the Meistersingers Society, the Northrop Male Voice Choir and the Grammar School Society. He was also Blackburn Borough organist, the first holder of the post, 1922 - 1930. His family moved to Blackburn in 1924. He was also Music Master at

Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, Blackburn Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School (QEGS) is a co-educational state-funded comprehensive free school in Blackburn, Lancashire, England. Founded in 1509 as a boys' school, it is now a co-educational all-through free school with over 1200 stude ...

. In 1935 he became teacher of singing, sight-singing and musical dictation at the

Royal Manchester College of Music The Royal Manchester College of Music (RMCM) was a tertiary level conservatoire in Manchester, north-west England. It was founded in 1893 by the German-born conductor Sir Charles Hallé in 1893. In 1972, the Royal Manchester College of Mu ...

. In 1937 he succeeded Harold Dawber as Chorus Master of the

Hallé Choir The Hallé Choir is a large symphonic chorus of around 220 singers based in Manchester, England. It was founded as ''Manchester Choral Society'' alongside the Hallé Orchestra in 1858 by Sir Charles Hallé. The choir gives around 15 concerts a ...

.The Hallé tradition: a century of music By Michael Kennedy

Private life

He married Mabel Daisy Root (1880–1962) who was a pianist and piano teacher. They had three children including Molly Brearley who led Froebel Educational Institute from 1955 to 1970.

Career

Assistant Organist of : *

, ?–1895 Organist of: *Halstead Parish Church, Essex, 1895–1901 *Holy Trinity, Hastings, 1901–???? *All Saints, Hastings, ?–1916 *

, 1916–1939

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brearley, Herman English classical organists English cathedral organists People from Batley 19th-century births 1940 deaths English male classical organists