Roy Cyril Massey (born 9 May 1934) is a British organist and conductor.

Early life and education

Born in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

, Massey was educated at Moseley Grammar School and the

University of Birmingham The University of Birmingham (informally Birmingham University) is a Public university, public research university in Birmingham, England. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Queen's College, Birmingham (founded in 1825 as ...

, where he was awarded the degree of

Bachelor of Music A Bachelor of Music (BMus; sometimes conferred as Bachelor of Musical Arts) is an academic degree awarded by a college, university, or conservatory upon completion of a program of study in music. The degree may be awarded for performance, music ed ...

(BMus). He also holds the diplomas of FRCO(CHM) and the Archbishop's Diploma in Church Music (ADCM).

Career

Massey served as organist of St Alban-the-Martyr, Bordesley (1953–1960), and of St Augustine's Church, Edgbaston (1960–1965), before becoming warden of 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 ...

and organist of Croydon Parish Church (1965–1968). From 1968 to 1974 he was organist of St. Philip's Cathedral, Birmingham, and director of music at

King Edward's School, Birmingham King Edward's School (KES) is an independent school (UK), independent day school for boys in the British Public school (UK), public school tradition, located in Edgbaston, Birmingham. Founded by Edward VI of England, King Edward VI in 1552, it ...

. He was elected Fellow of the

(FRSCM) in 1972 and Fellow of

St. Michael's College, Tenbury St Michael's College (the College of St Michael and All Angels) at Tenbury Wells, Worcestershire, England, was founded by Frederick Ouseley, Sir Frederick Ouseley in 1856 as a boys' Preparatory school (United Kingdom), preparatory school. Ousele ...

, in 1975. From 1974 to 2001 he was Organist and Master of the Choristers at

Hereford Cathedral Hereford Cathedral, formally the , is a Church of England cathedral in Hereford, England. It is the seat of the bishop of Hereford and the principal church of the diocese of Hereford. The cathedral is a grade I listed building. A place of wors ...

. During this time, he was conductor-in-chief of the

Three Choirs Festival 200px, Worcester cathedral 200px, Gloucester cathedral The Three Choirs Festival is a music festival held annually at the end of July, rotating among the cathedrals of the Three Counties (Hereford, Gloucester, and Worcester) and originally fe ...

for nine seasons, for which he commissioned and conducted the premieres of several works by British composers.

Later life

Following his retirement from Hereford Cathedral, Massey became President 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 ...

(2003–2005). He remained active as a concert organist, and gave the opening recital on the newly rebuilt organ at Hereford Cathedral in 2005. He was awarded the

Lambeth degree A Lambeth degree is an academic degree conferred by the Archbishop of Canterbury under the authority of the Ecclesiastical Licences Act 1533 as successor of the papal legate in England. The degrees conferred most commonly are DD (Doctor of Div ...

Doctor of Music The Doctor of Music degree (DMus, DM, MusD or occasionally MusDoc) is a doctorate awarded on the basis of a substantial portfolio of compositions, musical performances, and/or scholarly publications on music. In some institutions, the award is a ...

(DMus) in 1990 and appointed a Member 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 ...

(MBE) in

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

. His arrangement of the Ukrainian melody 'Long the Night', was included in the carol anthology ''Noel!'', published by Novello in 2000. In 2021 Massey published his autobiography, ''An Organist Remembers: Memories of a Life in Cathedral Music''.Book review, "An Organist Remembers: Memories of a Life in Cathedral Music"
''Church Times'', 31 December 2021. Retrieved 14 January 2022.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Massey, Roy Cyril 1934 births Living people British cathedral organists British classical organists British male conductors (music) People educated at Moseley School Members of the Order of the British Empire 21st-century British conductors (music) 21st-century British organists 21st-century British male musicians British male classical organists