Thomas Rundle Reilly MBE (August 21, 1919 – September 25, 2000) was a Canadian-born

harmonica The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica inclu ...

player, predominantly based in England. He began studying violin at eight and began playing harmonica at aged eleven as a member of his father's band. In the 1940s, he began parallel careers as a concert soloist and recitalist, a popular radio and TV performer, and a studio musician-composer.

Early life

Born in Guelph, Ontario, he studied violin at eight and began playing harmonica at aged eleven as a member of his father's band. In 1935 the family moved to London. At the outbreak of the Second World War he was a student at the Leipzig Conservatory. He was arrested and interned for the duration of the war in prisoner of war camps. However it was there that he developed his virtuosity on the harmonica, basing his ideas of phrasing and interpretation on the playing of Jascha Heifetz.

Career

Returning to London in 1945, Reilly began championing the cause of the harmonica as a serious solo concert instrument. He began parallel careers as a concert soloist and recitalist, a popular BBC radio and TV performer, and a studio musician-composer. He performed with most of the major European orchestras and toured Europe several times with the

Academy of St Martin-in-the-Fields The Academy of St Martin in the Fields (ASMF) is an English chamber orchestra, based in London. John Churchill, then Master of Music at the London church of St Martin-in-the-Fields, and Neville Marriner founded the orchestra as "The Academy o ...

. He also played the theme tune and musical breaks to the BBC Radio series '' The Navy Lark'', from 1959-77, and the soundtrack to the British television show, Dial 999 (TV series), in 1958. More than 30 concert works were composed for Reilly, including Michael Spivakovsky's ''Harmonica Concerto of 1951'' and fellow Canadian Robert Farnon's ''Prelude and Dance for Harmonica and Orchestra''. Other pieces were composed by Reilly's accompanist James Moody, (
Little Suite for Harmonica and Small Orchestra
', 1960) Matyas Seiber (''Old Scottish Air for Harmonica, Strings and Harp''), Gordon Jacob (''Five Pieces for Harmonica and Strings''), Fried Walter (''Ballade and Tarantella for Harmonica and Orchestra''), Karl Heinz-Köper (''Concerto for Harmonica and Orchestra''), Graham Whettam (''Fantasy for Harmonica and Orchestra''), Vilém Tauský (''Concertino for Harmonica and Orchestra''), Francis Ward (''Kaleidoscope for Harmonica and Orchestra''), Willem Strietman ("O bonne douce France" for Harmonica and Orchestra), Max Saunders (''Sonatina for Harmonica and Piano''), Sir George Martin (''Three American Sketches for Harmonica and Strings, and Adagietto for Harmonica and Strings''), Alan Langford (''Concertante for Harmonica and Strings''),

Paul Patterson Paul Patterson may refer to: *Paul Patterson (neuroscientist) (1943–2014), American neuroscientist *Paul L. Patterson (1900–1956), American politician *Paul Patterson (footballer) (born 1965), Australian rules footballer *Paul Patterson (compos ...

(''Propositions for Harmonica and Strings''). Reilly worked with many composers to get more original music written for the instrument, and his recordings also include original harmonica works by

Ralph Vaughan Williams Ralph Vaughan Williams, (; 12 October 1872– 26 August 1958) was an English composer. His works include operas, ballets, chamber music, secular and religious vocal pieces and orchestral compositions including nine symphonies, written over ...

, Malcolm Arnold, Arthur Benjamin, and

Villa-Lobos Heitor Villa-Lobos (March 5, 1887November 17, 1959) was a Brazilian composer, conductor, cellist, and classical guitarist described as "the single most significant creative figure in 20th-century Brazilian art music". Villa-Lobos has become the ...

. He was signed to Parlophone in 1951 where his recordings were produced by George Martin. He performed music for the soundtracks of many US and European films and television series, including British comedy ''The Navy Lark'' (1959) and the TV theme tune for Dixon of Dock Green. In 1967, Reilly initiated the development of the first Hohner silver harmonica. He and James Moody have recorded many musical scores for the harmonica under the pen names "Dwight Barker" and "Max Martin". His song Double March was also the theme song for '' Bobino'' on

Ici Radio-Canada Télé Ici Radio-Canada Télé (formerly known as Télévision de Radio-Canada) is a Canadian French-language free-to-air television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (known in French as Société Radio-Canada), the national pub ...

Honours

In 1992 he was awarded the MBE for his services to music.

Death

Tommy Reilly died aged 81 in Frensham,

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

. His granddaughter Georgina Reilly is an English-born Canadian film and television actor. Larry Adler admitted in '' The Guardian'' obituary of Tommy that "He never even had a close second".

Bibliography

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References

External links

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A Life in Music: Vintage Tommy Reilly
'. Notes to Chandos 20143 (August, 2019) by Sigmund Groven and David Reilly {{DEFAULTSORT:Reilly, Tommy 1919 births 2000 deaths Musicians from Guelph Canadian harmonica players Canadian expatriates in the United Kingdom Canadian Members of the Order of the British Empire Canadian classical composers Composers for harmonica 20th-century classical composers Canadian male classical composers 20th-century Canadian composers