__NOTOC__ Wilfred Heaton (2 December 1918 – 20 May 2000) was an English composer, conductor and teacher, best known for his

brass band A brass band is a musical ensemble generally consisting primarily of brass instruments, most often with a percussion section. Ensembles that include brass and woodwind instruments can in certain traditions also be termed brass bands (particularl ...

music and for his long association with the

Salvation Army The Salvation Army (TSA) is a Protestantism, Protestant Christian church and an international charitable organisation headquartered in London, England. It is aligned with the Wesleyan-Holiness movement. The organisation reports a worldwide m ...

Early career

Born in

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...

into a Salvation Army family, Heaton began piano lessons at the age of eight, gaining his

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 ...

performance diploma at 19. He also learned the

cornet The cornet (, ) is a brass instrument similar to the trumpet but distinguished from it by its conical bore, more compact shape, and mellower tone quality. The most common cornet is a transposing instrument in B. There is also a soprano cor ...

. While working at Cocking & Pace, a brass instrument manufacturing and repair shop in Sheffield, he began composing music for brass bands. He married Olive Mary Fisher (also of the Salvation Army) in 1941 and there were three daughters. During the war Heaton served with the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

. He composed music for the Salvation Army throughout his career, but their requirement for simple, practical music became somewhat at odds with his broader compositional ambitions. His initial studies were with the Salvation Army bandmaster and composer George Marshall. Later, in the 1950s, Heaton received tuition from

Mátyás Seiber Mátyás György Seiber (, sometimes given as Matthis Seyber; 4 May 1905 – 24 September 1960) was a Hungarian-born British composer who lived and worked in the United Kingdom from 1935 onwards. His work linked many diverse musical influences, ...

Composition

Paul Hindmarsh has identified three compositional periods. From his first listed composition (''Marching Song'', 1930) until the post war period Heaton focused mostly on music for the Salvation Army. After the war he began working in a more contemporary style, influenced by

William Walton Sir William Turner Walton (29 March 19028 March 1983) was an English composer. During a sixty-year career, he wrote music in several classical genres and styles, from film scores to opera. His best-known works include ''Façade'', the cantat ...

Paul Hindemith Paul Hindemith ( ; ; 16 November 189528 December 1963) was a German and American composer, music theorist, teacher, violist and conductor. He founded the Amar Quartet in 1921, touring extensively in Europe. As a composer, he became a major advo ...

and

Béla Bartók Béla Viktor János Bartók (; ; 25 March 1881 – 26 September 1945) was a Hungarian composer, pianist and ethnomusicologist. He is considered one of the most important composers of the 20th century; he and Franz Liszt are regarded as Hunga ...

, on works such as his variations for brass band ''Celestial Prospect'' (1950), and his well known test piece for bands, ''Contest Music (1973)''. He also began writing concert music for other forces, such as the Suite for Orchestra (1950), the Rhapsody for Oboe and String Orchestra (1952, performed by

Joy Boughton Christina Joyance Boughton A.R.C.M. (known as Joy) (14 June 1913 – 9 March 1963) was an English oboist and the daughter of composer Rutland Boughton and artist Christina Walshe. She died in 1963 in tragic circumstances. She was taught oboe by ...

, and the

Boyd Neel Orchestra Louis Boyd Neel O.C. (19 July 190530 September 1981) was an English, and later Canadian conductor and academic. He was Dean of the Royal Conservatory of Music at the University of Toronto. Neel founded and conducted chamber orchestras, and cont ...

under

Norman Del Mar Norman René Del Mar Commander of the Order of the British Empire, CBE (31 July 19196 February 1994) was an English Conductor (music), conductor, horn player, and biographer. As a conductor, he specialised in the music of late romantic composers; ...

in 1954) and the Piano Sonata (early 1950s, first performed by Murray McLaclan on 15 August, 2024, Stoller Hall, Manchester), as well as other piano music, choral music and songs. In his final period Heaton was mostly concerned with revising old scores from the 1940s and 1950s. During this time his professional activities - full-time teaching in

Harrogate Harrogate ( ) is a spa town and civil parish in the North Yorkshire District, district and North Yorkshire, county of North Yorkshire, England. Historic counties of England, Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, the town is a tourist de ...

(from 1963), musical director of the Leeds Symphony Orchestra (1962–1969) and artistic director of the Yorkshire Concert Orchestra - as well as a growing interest in the

Rudolf Steiner Rudolf Joseph Lorenz Steiner (; 27 or 25 February 1861 – 30 March 1925) was an Austrian occultist, social reformer, architect, esotericist, and claimed clairvoyant. Steiner gained initial recognition at the end of the nineteenth century ...

movement, resulted in him moving away from regular composition.Paul Hindmarsh. ''Wilfred Heaton. His Life – His Music'' (PHM Publishing, 2025) However, following the death of his wife and his retirement from teaching, he began composing again, producing the Sinfonia Concertante for cornet and band (1990), the Trombone Concerto (1992), and two marches. His final work, ''Variations'', was begun in 1990, but remained unfinished at his death in May 2000. It was completed by

Howard Snell Howard L. Snell (born 1953) is an American ecologist and professor at the University of New Mexico. His research and conservation efforts have focused on the Galapagos land iguanas, which were in danger of extinction. Biography Snell was born ...

and premiered in

Bergen Bergen (, ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland county on the Western Norway, west coast of Norway. Bergen is the list of towns and cities in Norway, second-largest city in Norway after the capital Oslo. By May 20 ...

on 16 January 2002 by Eikanger Bjorsvik.

Recordings

The Wilfred Heaton Trust have issued six CDs of recordings, by the International Staff Band, the Black Dyke Band and the Heaton Chorus. There is a recording of ''Variations'' by the

Black Dyke Band Black Dyke Band, formerly John Foster & Son Black Dyke Mills Band, is one of the oldest and most well-known brass bands in the world. It originated as multiple community bands founded by John Foster at his family's textile mill in Queensbury ...

. Recordings of his piano music and songs are scheduled for release in 2025 by Divine Art.
Wilfred Heaton: The Reluctant Composer
', Divine Art Recordings (2025)

References

External links

Wilfred Heaton: Paul Hindmarsh Music Publishing

The Wilfred Heaton Trust

''Wilfred Heaton: His Life, His Music'', British Music Society

''Contest Music'', performed by Ensemble de Cuivres Valaisan
{{DEFAULTSORT:Heaton, Wilfred 1918 births 2000 deaths 20th-century British classical musicians 20th-century British classical composers Brass band composers 20th-century English conductors (music) Salvation Army brass bands Musicians from Sheffield English Salvationists