Patric Standford (5 February 1939 – 23 April 2014) was an English composer, supporter of composers' rights, educationalist and author.

Early life and education

Patric John Standford (real name John Gledhill) was born in Barnsley, moved to the

West Riding of Yorkshire The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county County of York, West Riding (the area under the control of West Riding County Council), abbreviated County ...

, and had a

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belie ...

education at Ackworth School in

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in the moors of the Pennines. West Yorkshire came into exis ...

. He began his working life as a legal accountant and served in the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

at 617 Squadron in

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-west, Leicestershir ...

before arranging his own admission to the

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

in London in 1961, where he studied composition with Edmund Rubbra and Raymond Jones. While a student, he was awarded both the Carl Meyer Prize and the Royal Philharmonic Society Prize for composition.Lewis Foreman. Obituary, ''The Independent'', 4 May, 2014
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Career

In 1964, Standford was awarded the Mendelssohn Scholarship, enabling him to travel to Venice and study with Gian Francesco Malipiero, and later to Warsaw where he studied with

Witold Lutosławski Witold Roman Lutosławski (; 25 January 1913 – 7 February 1994) was a Polish composer and conductor. Among the major composers of 20th-century classical music, he is "generally regarded as the most significant Polish composer since Szyma ...

. In 1967 he joined the professorial staff of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and from then divided his working life between composing, conducting, teaching and musical journalism. When Edmund Rubbra retired, Standford was appointed the School's principal composition professor and was awarded a Fellowship of the Guildhall School of Music (FGSM) in 1972. In 1978, he gained a master's degree in composition at Goldsmiths College,

London University The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degr ...

. Standford became chairman (1977–1980) of the Composers' Guild of Great Britain (since amalgamated into the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors (BASCA)) and chairman (1980–1992) of the British Music Information Centre (since amalgamated into Sound and Music). In those capacities, he organised British music representation at various international events, including the Nordic Music Committee (NOMUS) in Helsinki and the Latin-American Festival in Venezuela in collaboration with the BBC. Standford held the post of Head of Music at the

Leeds University , mottoeng = And knowledge will be increased , established = 1831 – Leeds School of Medicine1874 – Yorkshire College of Science1884 - Yorkshire College1887 – affiliated to the federal Victoria University1904 – University of Leeds , ...

College Bretton Hall from 1980 to 1993, while continuing to compose, write and appear as a regular jury member for competitive choral festivals in Hungary, France and Estonia. He married his wife Sarah Blyth Hilton in 1967 and they lived in London. She died in 2011 after 44 years of marriage, and he moved to Occold, a village near Eye in Suffolk, where he continued to work, composing, writing and teaching until his death of a heart attack in April 2014, aged 75.

Composer

Standford's music covers many genres, predominantly the orchestra. His first symphony ''The Seasons'', written in 1972, gained the Premio Città di Trieste award. His Symphony No. 2 was awarded the Óscar Esplá prize for composition in Spain. In 1983, Standford was awarded the

Ernest Ansermet Ernest Alexandre Ansermet (; 11 November 1883 – 20 February 1969)"Ansermet, Ernest" in '' The New Encyclopædia Britannica''. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 15th edn., 1992, Vol. 1, p. 435. was a Swiss conductor. Biography Ansermet ...

Prize of the City of Geneva for his Symphony No 3, a choral symphony subtitled ''Toward Paradise'' and setting

Dante Dante Alighieri (; – 14 September 1321), probably baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri and often referred to as Dante (, ), was an Italian poet, writer and philosopher. His '' Divine Comedy'', originally called (modern Italian: ...

's journey from Purgatory to Heaven. The 5th Symphony was commissioned by the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra in 1984. Orchestral concertos include the Cello Concerto (1974), Violin Concerto (1975), Piano Concerto (1979) and the Concertino for Harpsichord and Small Orchestra (1999). He wrote his Easter oratorio ''Christus Requiem'' for the Guildhall School of Music and Drama's principal Allen Percival and the

City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London f ...

in 1973. ''Christus Requiem'' brought together the full orchestral, choral and dramatic forces of the Guildhall School for its first performance in

St. Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in London and is the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London. It is on Ludgate Hill at the highest point of the City of London and is a Gr ...

, in the Spring of that year. This oratorio received the Yugoslavian Government award in 1974. Other choral works include ''The Prayer of Saint Francis'', the ''Mass for Hildegard of Bingen,'' recorded by the BBC Singers in 2013, and smaller scale pieces such as the carol ''This Day'' and the ''Stabat mater''. Chamber music includes the early String Quartet, the ''Five French Folksongs'' written for and performed by the Nash Ensemble of London, and the Symphony No 4, ''Taikayoku'', a chamber work for piano and six percussionists, including parts written for elementary players. The string trio ''Holiday Memories'' is also written for amateur players. Standford was commissioned to write a number of pieces for the Guildhall graded examinations (now Trinity College London). He also composed commercial and light music and arranged for films, television and theatre - including assignments for Pathé News, the

London Palladium The London Palladium () is a Grade II* West End theatre located on Argyll Street, London, in the famous area of Soho. The theatre holds 2,286 seats. Of the roster of stars who have played there, many have televised performances. Between 1955 a ...

and

Granada Television ITV Granada, formerly known as Granada Television, is the ITV franchisee for the North West of England and Isle of Man. From 1956 to 1968 it broadcast to both the north west and Yorkshire but only on weekdays as ABC Weekend Television was it ...

. In 1971 he composed a 26 minute piece, ''Autumn Grass'', for the classically-influenced progressive rock group Continuum, and ghost wrote and directed classical style pieces for

Rod McKuen Rodney Marvin McKuen (; April 29, 1933 – January 29, 2015) was an American poet, singer-songwriter, and actor. He was one of the best-selling poets in the United States during the late 1960s. Throughout his career, McKuen produced a wide range ...

. Standford continued to compose up until his death. Late works include the Recorder Quintet, commissioned by John Turner, recorded and premiered at the Rawsthorne Festival in 2014, and ''Anthem'' commissioned by Elis Pehkonen, premiered at the William Alwyn Festival 2014. He also revised ''Christus Requiem'', with plans for performances at Norwich or Chichester Cathedrals. Among his pupils were Barry Guy, Jerry Lanning,

Lionel Sainsbury Lionel Sainsbury is an English pianist and classical composer. Biography Born in Wiltshire in 1958, he started playing piano as a child, and soon started to compose his own music. Later he studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in ...

, :de:Malcolm Dedman and Gary Higginson.

Writer

Standford contributed articles and reviews to ''Choir and Organ''. From 1980 to 2008, he was music critic for the '' Yorkshire Post'', writing features and revues. He also wrote a series of lively articles entitled ''Provocative Thoughts'' for ''Music & Vision Magazine'' and a monthly blog for the

Open College of the Arts The Open College of the Arts (OCA) is an open learning arts college, with a Head Office in Barnsley in South Yorkshire, England. Founded in 1987 by Michael Young, it is a registered charity and the distance learning partner of the Universi ...

. In 1992, Standford published ''Projects: A Course in Musical Composition'', and in 2008 he devised and wrote the composition study course for the Open College of the Arts.

Awards

* 1972 Premio Cittá di Trieste for Symphony No 1 * 1974 Oscar Espla Prize for Symphony No 2 * 1976 Yugoslavian Solidarity Award, Skopje for ''Christus Requiem'' * 1982 Evelyn Glennie Percussion Award for ''Taikyoku: Symphony No. 4'' * 1985 City of Geneva 'Ernest Ansermet Prize' for ''Toward Paradise'' * 1997 Budapest International Composers' Award for ''The Prayer of St Francis'' * 1999 International ClarinetFest Prize for ''Fantasy Quintet''

Key works

:String Quartet No 1 (1965) :'' Gitanjali: four Tagore Songs'' (1966) :Ballet: ''Celestial Fire'' (1971, orchestra) :''Symphony No 1: The seasons'' (1972, orchestra) :''Christus Requiem'' (1973), soli, chorus, orchestra) :Symphony No 2 (1974, orchestra) :String Quartet No 2 (1973) :Symphony No 3: ''Toward Paradise'' (1975–82, chorus, orchestra) :''Taikyoku: Symphony No 4'' (1976, 2 pianos and percussion) :''A Christmas Carol Symphony'' (1978, orchestra) :''Ancient Verses'' (1978, chorus and percussion) :Symphony No 5 (1984, BBC commission, orchestra, solo soprano) :Divertimento for violin and piano (1986) :''Mass for Hildegard of Bingen'' (1988, SATB) :Six Piano Pieces: ''Faeries'' (1992) :''The Prayer of Saint Francis: A Masque for chorus and orchestra'' (1996) :Concertino for harpsichord and small orchestra (1999) :''The Emperor's Orchestra: a story for children'' (2001, narrator, orchestra) :''Five French Folksongs for wind quintet'' (2004) :''Six Preludes for guitar'' (2008) :''Responses for Tenebrae: 18 motets for a cappella choir'' (2010)

Recordings

:Symphony No 1; Cello Concerto; Prelude to a Fantasy �
Naxos 8.571356
:A Christmas Carol Symphony �
Naxos 8.557099
:Recorder Quintet on The Recorder Collection, Vol. 2 The Proud Recorder, John Turner/The Manchester Chamber Ensemble �
Prima Facie PFCD038
:The Prayer of Saint Francis – In Memoriam Zoltán Kodály Winners of the First International Composers' Competition BR 0156 (DDD) :Ballet Suite: Celestial Fir
Best of British Light Music Resonance: CDRSB502
an
Light Music Discoveries 3 CDWHL2128

References

External links

*
Patric Standford at Edition Peters
{{DEFAULTSORT:Standford, Patric 1939 births 2014 deaths English classical composers British music educators Musicians from Barnsley Alumni of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama Academics of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama Alumni of Goldsmiths, University of London Academics of the University of Leeds People educated at Ackworth School 20th-century classical composers 20th-century English composers 21st-century classical composers 21st-century English composers English male classical composers 20th-century British male musicians 21st-century British male musicians