Derek Holman, (16 May 1931 – 20 May 2019) was a choral conductor, organist and composer.

Life and work

Born at

Illogan Illogan (pronounced ''il'luggan'', kw, Egloshalow) is a village and civil parish in west Cornwall, UK, two miles (3 km) northwest of Redruth. The population of Illogan was 5,404 at the 2011 census. In the same year the population of the Ca ...

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

, UK, Holman attended 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 ...

from 1948 to 1952 and studied with Sir William McKie,

Eric Thiman Eric Harding Thiman (12 September 1900 – 13 February 1975) was an English composer, conductor and organist. The surname is pronounced 'tea-man'. By 1939 he was considered one of the leading non-conformist organists in England. His choral an ...

and

York Bowen Edwin York Bowen (22 February 1884 – 23 November 1961) was an English composer and pianist. Bowen's musical career spanned more than fifty years during which time he wrote over 160 works. As well as being a pianist and composer, Bowen was a ...

. He held the degree of Doctor of Music from the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

and was a Fellow of the

, the

Royal School of Church Music The Royal School of Church Music (RSCM) is a Christian music education organisation dedicated to the promotion of music in Christian worship, in particular the repertoire and traditions of Anglican church music, largely through publications, tr ...

and the

Royal College of Organists 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 de ...

. He was an instructor in the

Royal Army Educational Corps The Royal Army Educational Corps (RAEC) was a corps of the British Army tasked with educating and instructing personnel in a diverse range of skills. On 6 April 1992 it became the Educational and Training Services Branch (ETS) of the Adjutant Gene ...

with the British Army of the Rhine from 1952 to 1954, master at

Westminster Abbey Choir School Westminster Abbey Choir School is a boarding preparatory school for boys in Westminster, London and the only remaining choir school in the United Kingdom which exclusively educates choristers (i.e. only choirboys attend the school). It is loca ...

from 1954 to 1956, assistant organist at

St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in London and is the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London. It is on Ludgate Hill at the highest point of the City of London and is a Grad ...

from 1956 to 1958, then an organist at

Croydon Parish Church Croydon Minster is the parish and civic church of the London Borough of Croydon. There are currently more than 35 churches in the borough, with Croydon Minster being the most prominent. It is Grade I listed. Six Archbishops of Canterbury are bur ...

from 1958 to 1965. In 1960 he founded the Croydon Bach Society. He also held positions at the

from 1956 to 1965. Holman moved to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

in 1965, working as choirmaster at

Bishop Strachan School The Bishop Strachan School (BSS; Strachan pronounced "Strawn") is an Anglican day and boarding school for girls in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The school has approximately 900 students, including 80 boarding students, ranging from Junior Kindergar ...

until 1970 and organist and choirmaster at Toronto's

Grace Church on-the-Hill Grace Church on-the-Hill is a parish of the Anglican Church of Canada in the Diocese of Toronto. The parish church is located at 300 Lonsdale Road, in the Forest Hill area of Toronto, Ontario. Grace Church is featured in the novel ''A Prayer ...

until 1979. He began teaching music at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

in 1966. He directed the Concord Singers of Toronto from 1973 to 1975 and the Canadian Children's Opera Company (then Chorus) from 1975 to 1985. He was organist and choirmaster at Church of St Simon the Apostle in Toronto from 1981 to 1998. Holman was a consultant for The Hymn Book published in 1971 by the Anglican and United churches of Canada. His compositions include commissioned works for the

National Arts Centre Orchestra The National Arts Centre Orchestra (NAC Orchestra) is a Canadian orchestra based in Ottawa, Ontario led by music director Alexander Shelley. The NAC Orchestra's primary concert venue is Southam Hall at the National Arts Centre. Since its inceptio ...

, the Ontario Choral Federation, the

Toronto Mendelssohn Choir The Toronto Mendelssohn Choir is a Canadian large vocal ensemble based in Toronto, Ontario. It was co-founded in 1894 by Augustus S. Vogt and W. H. Hewlett to celebrate the opening of the Massey Hall. The ensemble was originally an extension of ...

, the

Canadian Brass The Canadian Brass is a Canadian brass quintet formed in 1970 in Toronto, Ontario, by Charles Daellenbach (tuba) and Gene Watts (trombone), with horn player Graeme Page and trumpeters Stuart Laughton and Bill Phillips completing the quintet. , ...

and the

Canadian Children's Opera Chorus The Canadian Children's Opera Company (formerly the Canadian Children's Opera Chorus, CCOC) is a large choral group based in Toronto. The company consists of five divisions of approximately 240 boys and girls aged 6 to 19. The Principal Chorus ha ...

. Holman was an associate of the

Canadian Music Centre The Canadian Music Centre was founded in 1959 by a group of Canadian composers who saw a need to create a repository for Canadian music. It now holds Canada's largest collection of Canadian concert music, and works to promote the music of its As ...

and a member of the

Canadian League of Composers The Canadian League of Composers is an organization formed in 1951 of Canadian composers primarily interested in raising awareness and acceptance of Canadian music. Its activities are overseen and directed by an executive, and by a National Counci ...

Honours

Holman won two National Choral Awards from the Association of Canadian Choral Conductors: * ''Night Music'' (1988), written for Toronto Mendelssohn Youth Choir * '' Sir Christëmas'' (1990), written for the Canadian Children's Opera Chorus Holman was a Professor Emeritus of the Faculty of Music,

, and was appointed a Member of the Order of Canada in 2002. He died on 20 May 2019 at the age of 88.

References

Classical composers of church music 1931 births 2019 deaths People educated at Truro School Fellows of the Royal Academy of Music Fellows of the Royal College of Organists Canadian people of Cornish descent University of Toronto faculty Members of the Order of Canada People from Illogan Cornish composers Canadian classical composers Canadian male classical composers 20th-century classical composers 20th-century English composers 21st-century classical composers 21st-century English composers 20th-century British male musicians 21st-century British male musicians {{UK-composer-stub