Brian Lewis Trowell (21 February 1931 – 12 November 2015) was an English musicologist and the

Heather Professor of Music The Heather Professor of Music is the title of an endowed chair at the University of Oxford. The post and the funding for it come from a bequest by William Heather (c. 1563 – 1627). Following the example of his friend William Camden who had left p ...

at the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

. Prior to his post at Oxford, he was the

King Edward Professor of Music The King Edward Professorship of Music was established at the University of London in 1902 with an endowment of £5,000 from Trinity College Of Music, Trinity College of Music. King Edward VII granted permission for his name to be associated with t ...

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...

. In the mid-1980s, he served as president of the

Royal Musical Association The Royal Musical Association (RMA) is a British scholarly society and charity. Founded in 1874, the Association claims to be the second oldest musicological society in the world, after that of the Netherlands. Activities include organizing and sp ...

Education and career

Brian Trowell was born in

Wokingham Wokingham is a market town in Berkshire, England, west of London, southeast of Reading, north of Camberley and west of Bracknell. History Wokingham means 'Wocca's people's home'. Wocca was apparently a Saxon chieftain who may als ...

in 1931. He received his BA from the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

in 1953, and a doctorate there in 1960, under

Thurston Dart Robert Thurston ("Bob") Dart (3 September 1921 – 6 March 1971), was an English musicologist, conductor and keyboard player. Along with Nigel Fortune, Oliver Neighbour and Stanley Sadie he was one of Britain's leading musicologists of the post- ...

. Trowell taught at

Birmingham University , mottoeng = Through efforts to heights , established = 1825 – Birmingham School of Medicine and Surgery1836 – Birmingham Royal School of Medicine and Surgery1843 – Queen's College1875 – Mason Science College1898 – Mason Univers ...

from 1957 to 1962, at

in 1964–64, was Director of Opera at 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 jazz ...

in 1963–67, became the

Gresham Professor of Music The Professor of Music at Gresham College, London, gives free educational lectures to the general public. The college was founded for this purpose in 1597, when it appointed seven professors; this has since increased to nine and in addition the col ...

, and from 1967 to 1970 was the Head of Radio Opera at the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

. He returned to King's College in 1970 and was the King Edward VII Professor of Music there from 1974 to 1988. When

Denis Arnold Denis Midgley Arnold (Sheffield, 15 December 1926 – Budapest, 28 April 1986) was a British musicologist. Biography After being employed in the extramural department of Queen's University, Belfast, he became a Lecturer in Music at the Univ ...

, the Heather Professor of Music at Oxford (1974–1986) died in 1986, Trowell eventually succeeded him and took the Heather Professor chair at Oxford in 1988. His scholarship focussed on

Edward Elgar Sir Edward William Elgar, 1st Baronet, (; 2 June 1857 – 23 February 1934) was an English composer, many of whose works have entered the British and international classical concert repertoire. Among his best-known compositions are orchestr ...

, among other composers. Trowell served as president of the

1984 to 1989. He died in Oxford in 2015.

Selected publications

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References

1931 births 2015 deaths People from Wokingham Alumni of the University of Cambridge Academics of the University of Birmingham Academics of King's College London Academics of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama Professors of Gresham College Heather Professors of Music English musicologists {{Musicologist-stub