Image of Wilfrid Ernest Sanderson composer 1878-1935

Wilfrid Ernest Sanderson FRCO LRAM (23 December 1878 – 10 December 1935) was a composer and organist based in

Doncaster Doncaster ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England. Named after the River Don, Yorkshire, River Don, it is the administrative centre of the City of Doncaster metropolitan borough, and is the second largest se ...

Life

Sanderson was born in Ipswich. His father was Revd. Thomas Sanderson, a Wesleyan Methodist minister, born in Warrington in 1848. Wilfrid was one of eight children. His mother was Emily, born in Liverpool in 1848. Wilfrid was educated at St. Dunstan's College, Catford, and the

City of London School The City of London School, also known as CLS and City, is a Private schools in the United Kingdom, private day school for Single-sex education, boys in the City of London, England, on the banks of the River Thames next to the Millennium Bridge, ...

. He studied organ under

Frederick Bridge Sir John Frederick Bridge (5 December 1844 – 18 March 1924) was an English organist, composer, teacher and writer. From a musical family, Bridge became a church organist before he was 20, and he achieved his ambition to become a cathedral ...

as pupil and later assistant organist at

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London, England. Since 1066, it has been the location of the coronations of 40 English and British m ...

from 1895 - 1904. During this time, Wilfrid was present in the organ loft during

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

's funeral and memorial service held on 2 February 1901. He also sang tenor in the Westminster Abbey choir for the coronation of

King Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria and ...

and Queen Alexandra on 26 June 1902. His musical studies gained him the Mus.Bac (Dunelm),

FRCO 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 dev ...

and

LRAM Licentiate of the Royal Academy of Music (LRAM) is a professional diploma, or licentiate, formerly open to both internal students of the Royal Academy of Music and to external candidates in voice, keyboard and orchestral instruments and guitar, as ...

. His early appointments were: church organist at St Stephen's, Walthamstow (1895 at the age of seventeen); organist at All Hallows', Southwark (1897); organist at St James's, West Hampstead (1899-1904). In 1904 he married Mary Elizabeth Petch and moved to Doncaster where he became organist of Doncaster Parish Church until 1923. He was also conductor of the Doncaster Musical Society (1911-1924) and of the Doncaster Amateur Operatic Society (1909-1924). During the Great War he served as a senior clerk with the Ministry of Works. He moved his family south to Egham, and after the war moved to Nutfield in Surrey. He became an examiner for

Trinity College of Music Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance is a music, dance, and musical theatre conservatoire based in South East London. It was formed in 2005 as a merger of two older institutions – Trinity College of Music and Laban Dance Centre. Trini ...

in 1924 and until his death. He died in Nutfield, Surrey in 1935 from typhoid, the result of eating contaminated oysters. He left a son Wilfrid

Guy Sanderson Wilfrid Guy Sanderson (17 August 1905 – 22 July 1988) was an English Anglican Bishop of Plymouth from 1962 to 1972. He was born on 17 August 1905 "Who was Who" 1897–2007 London, A & C Black, 2007 and educated at Malvern and Merton College, ...

(who was later to become Anglican Bishop of Plymouth) and a daughter Elizabeth.

Appointments

*Organist at St. Stephen's Church, Walthamstow 1896 - 1898 *Organist at All Hallows' Church, Southwark 1898 - 1899 *Organist at St. James' Church, West Hampstead 1899 - 1904 *Organist at St. George's Church, Doncaster 1904 - 1923

Compositions

He wrote around 170 songs, and also some pieces for piano and organ. His many ballads became well known throughout the British Isles. He worked with a number of lyricists including

Frederic Weatherly Frederic Edward Weatherly, KC (4 October 1848 – 7 September 1929) was an English lawyer, author, lyricist and broadcaster. He was christened and brought up using the name Frederick Edward Weatherly, and appears to have adopted the spelling 'F ...

KC, Helen Taylor, Edward Teschemacher, P.J. O'Reilly, Lancelot Cayley Shadwell and P. H. B. Lyon. His songs were often performed at the popular Saturday afternoon concerts at the

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London, England. It has a seating capacity of 5,272. Since the hall's opening by Queen Victoria in 1871, the world's leading artists from many performance genres ...

, presented by Arthur Boosey & Co. They were also performed at the

Promenade Concerts The BBC Proms is an eight-week summer season of daily orchestral classical music concerts and other events held annually, predominantly in the Royal Albert Hall in central London. Robert Newman founded The Proms in 1895. Since 1927, the ...

, organised by Sir

Henry Wood Sir Henry Joseph Wood (3 March 186919 August 1944) was an English conductor best known for his association with London's annual series of promenade concerts, known as the Proms. He conducted them for nearly half a century, introducing hundr ...

. Sheet music sales of his most successful song, "Until" (1910) sold more than a million copies. It is said that his song "Drake Goes West" (1910) was the first song ever to be broadcast on wireless radio by the BBC. * My Dear Soul (1906) *Until (1910) *Drake Goes West (1910) *Friend O'Mine (1912), text by Frederic Weatherly KC *You Along O' Me (1912), text by P. J. O'Reilly Published by Boosey & Co., copyright 1912 *Up From Somerset (1912), text by Frederic Weatherly KC * Shipmates O'Mine (1913) *Hills of Donegal (1914) *The Song of the 29th Division (1918), text by Lancelot Cayley Shadwell *Company Sergeant Major (1918), text by PHB Lyon *Devonshire Cream and Cider (1919)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sanderson, Wilfrid Ernest 1878 births 1935 deaths English organists British male organists English composers People educated at St Dunstan's College People educated at the City of London School Deaths from foodborne illnesses Musicians from Doncaster