Martin John Richard How (3 April 1931 – 25 July 2022) was a British composer and organist.

Early life and education

How was born in

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

on 3 April 1931, to the Rev.

John How John How (c. 1813January 3, 1885) was the 14th mayor of St. Louis, Missouri, US, serving from 1853 to 1855 and again from 1856 to 1857. Early life How was born in Pennsylvania, but later moved to St. Louis and became a successful merchant. ...

, who at the time was Rector of St. Nicholas Church, and Junie Katherine Reynolds, who died when How was a young boy. In 1938 his father was appointed

Bishop of Glasgow and Galloway The Bishop of Glasgow and Galloway is the ordinary (diocesan bishop) of the Scottish Episcopal Church Diocese of Glasgow and Galloway. Brief history When the dioceses of Glasgow and Galloway were combined in 1837, Michael Russell, the then ...

, and How spent most of his childhood in Scotland. Educated at

Repton School Repton School is a 13–18 co-educational, private, boarding and day school in the public school tradition, in Repton, Derbyshire, England. Sir John Port of Etwall, on his death in 1557, left funds to create a grammar school which was th ...

, where he was a music scholar, he was awarded an organ scholarship to

Clare College Clare College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. The college was founded in 1326 as University Hall, making it the second-oldest surviving college of the University after Peterhouse. It was refounded ...

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

, where he read music and theology. In this post he had responsibility for the Chapel Choir of men and boys and the Choral Society. He was a keen athlete and ran for the university, narrowly missing being awarded a 'Blue' for cross-country running.

Career

After university How served in the army for two years, where he gained a National Service Commission, seeing the experience as invaluable for his later profession. He then worked as organist and choirmaster at

Grimsby Minster Grimsby Minster is a Minster (church), minster and parish church in Grimsby, North East Lincolnshire, England. Dedicated to James, son of Zebedee, St James, the church belongs to the Church of England and is within the Diocese of Lincoln. Back ...

and was also involved in teaching and various musical activities. How spent most of his career with the

Royal School of Church Music The Royal School of Church Music (RSCM) is a Christian music education organisation dedicated to the promotion of music in Christian worship, in particular the repertoire and traditions of Anglican church music, largely through publications, tr ...

, where he was known principally as a choir trainer specialising in the training and motivation of young singers. In this capacity he initiated and developed the Chorister Training Scheme, which has since been used in various forms in many parts of the world. He inaugurated the Southern Cathedral Singers, a group that has frequently been broadcast on BBC Radio 3's

Choral Evensong Evensong is a church service traditionally held near sunset focused on singing psalms and other biblical canticles. It is loosely based on the canonical hours of vespers and compline. Old English speakers translated the Latin word as , which ...

from

Canterbury Cathedral Canterbury Cathedral is the cathedral of the archbishop of Canterbury, the spiritual leader of the Church of England and symbolic leader of the worldwide Anglican Communion. Located in Canterbury, Kent, it is one of the oldest Christianity, Ch ...

and elsewhere. He also traveled widely in the United States of America, Canada, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Denmark, Belgium and the Netherlands as a choral conductor, accompanist, lecturer and adjudicator.

Retirement and legacy

Following his retirement from the Royal School of Church Music, How continued to compose and play the organ as an honorary member of the music staff at

Croydon Minster Croydon Minster is the parish and civic church of the London Borough of Croydon, located in the Old Town area of Croydon. There are currently more than 35 churches in the borough, with Croydon Minster being the most prominent. It is Grade I listed ...

. He was awarded an MBE for services to church music in the

1993 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1993 were appointments by most of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries, and honorary ones to citizens of other count ...

. How died on 25 July 2022, at the age of 91.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:How, Martin 1931 births 2022 deaths 21st-century British male musicians 21st-century British organists Alumni of Clare College, Cambridge British classical organists Composers of Christian music Members of the Order of the British Empire People educated at Repton School Musicians from Liverpool British male classical organists