David Squibb (born 28 November 1935- 21 April 2010) was Director of Music at
Trinity School of John Whitgift
The Trinity School of John Whitgift, usually referred to as Trinity School, is a British independent boys' day school with a co-educational Sixth Form, located in Shirley Park, Croydon. Part of the Whitgift Foundation, it was established in 1 ...
. He is most known for founding Trinity School Boys Choir, one of the busiest and most successful school choirs in the world. It has a high professional profile, both in the
UK and abroad. Members have appeared at
Glyndebourne
Glyndebourne () is an English country house, the site of an opera house that, since 1934, has been the venue for the annual Glyndebourne Festival Opera. The house, located near Lewes in East Sussex, England, is thought to be about six hundr ...
, the
Royal Opera House, Covent Garden
The Royal Opera House (ROH) is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. It is the home of The Royal Ope ...
,
English National Opera
English National Opera (ENO) is an opera company based in London, resident at the London Coliseum in St Martin's Lane. It is one of the two principal opera companies in London, along with The Royal Opera. ENO's productions are sung in English ...
and many opera houses abroad, including the
Aix-en-Provence Festival
The Festival d'Aix-en-Provence is an annual international music festival which takes place each summer in Aix-en-Provence, principally in July. Devoted mainly to opera, it also includes concerts of orchestral, chamber, vocal and solo instrumenta ...
, the
Opera Comique, Paris, and
La Fenice, Venice. The choir is well known for its part in
Britten's ''A Midsummer Night's Dream''Lives Remembered - Telegraph
/ref> in which they have appeared in over one hundred and fifty professional performances, and they feature in the Warner DVD and Virgin Classics CD.
Squibb joined Trinity School as Director of Music in 1964, and over the years that he taught and worked at the school he developed the choir to its position of being in demand for film and television work as well as concert appearances. He was succeeded in his post at Trinity Boys School by David Swinson.
Squibb was born in 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. ...
and educated at Collingwood School, Wallington, and at Whitgift School
("He who perseveres, conquers")
, established =
, closed =
, type = Independent school
, religious_affiliation = Church of England
, president =
, head_label = Head Master
, head = Christopher Ramsey
, c ...
, Croydon
Croydon is a large town in south London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a local government district of Greater London. It is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater London, with an extensi ...
. Subsequently, he was a piano scholar at the Royal Academy of Music
The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is the oldest conservatoire in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the first Duke of ...
, after which he did his national service
National service is the system of voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939.
The l ...
in the Royal Marines
The Corps of Royal Marines (RM), also known as the Royal Marines Commandos, are the UK's special operations capable commando force, amphibious light infantry and also one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy. The Corps of Royal Marine ...
and became the youngest Professor of Piano at the Royal Marines School of Music. He also worked as a freelance journalist including presenting radio programmes for the 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 exam. ...
...
.
His wife Shirley died in 2002. Shirley was an Associate of the Royal Academy of Music as a soprano. Her contribution to the success of Trinity Boys Choir has been largely unacknowledged.
David and Shirley Squibb are survived by three sons Nick, Tom and Ed.
Squibb died of cancer, aged 74, on 21 April 2010.