Nigel James Brooks (24 December 1926 – 2 March 2024) was an English composer, arranger and conductor.

Biography

Nigel James Brooks was born in

Barnstaple Barnstaple ( or ) is a river-port town and civil parish in the North Devon district of Devon, England. The town lies at the River Taw's lowest crossing point before the Bristol Channel. From the 14th century, it was licensed to export wool from ...

on 24 December 1926. He spent most of his childhood in

Ilfracombe Ilfracombe ( ) is a seaside resort and civil parishes in England, civil parish on the North Devon coast, England, with a small harbour surrounded by cliffs. The parish stretches along the coast from the 'Coastguard Cottages' in Hele Bay towar ...

North Devon North Devon is a Non-metropolitan district, local government district in Devon, England. Its council is based just outside Barnstaple, the district's largest town. The district also includes the towns of Ilfracombe, Lynton and Lynmouth and Sout ...

. He attended

Guildhall School of Music and Drama The Guildhall School of Music and Drama is a music school, music and drama school located in the City of London, England. Established in 1880, the school offers undergraduate and postgraduate training in all aspects of classical music and jazz al ...

in London. For much of his career he was an orchestral arranger, particularly for the BBC and also conducted the

BBC Concert Orchestra The BBC Concert Orchestra is a British concert orchestra based in London, one of the British Broadcasting Corporation's five radio orchestras. With around fifty players, it is the only one of the five BBC orchestras which is not a full-scale sym ...

. He formed his own musical ensemble "The Nigel Brooks Singers" which appeared on '' Friday Night is Music Night'' and earned three

gold disc Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

s, and two silver. Brooks wrote three ballets for

Sadler's Wells Sadler's Wells Theatre is a London performing arts venue, located in Rosebery Avenue, Islington. The present-day theatre is the sixth on the site. Sadler's Wells grew out of a late 17th-century pleasure garden and was opened as a theatre buil ...

(''Barnstaple Fair'', ''Seven Cameos for Combe'' and '' The Water Babies''), and an opera based on

Daphne du Maurier Dame Daphne du Maurier, Lady Browning, (; 13 May 1907 – 19 April 1989) was an English novelist, biographer and playwright. Her parents were actor-manager Gerald du Maurier, Sir Gerald du Maurier and his wife, actress Muriel Beaumont. Her gra ...

's novel ''

Jamaica Inn The Jamaica Inn is a traditional inn on Bodmin Moor in Cornwall, England, which was built as a coaching inn in 1750, and has a historical association with smuggling. Located just off the A30, near the middle of the moor close to the hamlet of ...

''. He was married to Jean, whose death was commemorated by his adagio for strings ''To My Love''.
English Music for Strings
', Chamber Ensemble of London, Campion Cameo LC03062 (2006) As part of the

2022 Birthday Honours The 2022 Queen's Birthday Honours are appointments by some of the 15 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to Orders and decorations of the Commonwealth realms, various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those ...

, Brooks was awarded the

British Empire Medal The British Empire Medal (BEM; formerly British Empire Medal for Meritorious Service) is a British and Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth award for meritorious civil or military service worthy of recognition by the Monarchy of the United Ki ...

(BEM) for services to musical theatre and the music industry. Brooks died at his home in Barnstaple, on 2 March 2024, at the age of 97.Nigel James B.E.M. Brooks
/ref>

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Brooks, Nigel 1926 births 2024 deaths Musicians from Barnstaple English composers English male conductors (music) 21st-century English conductors (music) 21st-century English male musicians Recipients of the British Empire Medal