Douglas Clarke (4 April 1893 – 14 November 1962)"Douglas Clarke"
The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved 1 December 2019. was an English organist, conductor, composer and academic. For most of his career he lived in Canada, where in Montreal he was an academic at

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous ...

and conductor of the Montreal Orchestra.

Life

Clarke was born in

Reading, Berkshire Reading ( ) is a town and borough in Berkshire, Southeast England, southeast England. Located in the Thames Valley at the confluence of the rivers River Thames, Thames and River Kennet, Kennet, the Great Western Main Line railway and the M4 mot ...

in 1893. During the First World War he was a commissioned officer in the Royal Navy. He became a fellow of 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 ...

in 1920. At the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a public collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world's third oldest surviving university and one of its most pr ...

he obtained BMus and MA degrees; he was appointed

organ scholar An organ scholar is a young musician employed as a part-time assistant organist at a cathedral, church or institution where regular choral services are held. The idea of an organ scholarship is to provide the holder with playing, directing and adm ...

at Christ's College, Cambridge in 1923."Clarke, Douglas". Percy A. Scholes, ''The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music''. OUP 1964. In 1927 he moved to Canada, where in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749, ...

he was a choral conductor, and organist at Holy Trinity Church. In 1930 he became dean of the Faculty of Music at

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

. He was conductor of the Montreal Orchestra from its formation in 1930 until its dissolution in 1941; during this time, the orchestra introduced works by British composers, and works from the standard repertoire not previously heard in Montreal. He retired from the university in 1955; returning to England, he lived in

Warwick Warwick ( ) is a market town, civil parish and the county town of Warwickshire in the Warwick District in England, adjacent to the River Avon. It is south of Coventry, and south-east of Birmingham. It is adjoined with Leamington Spa and Whi ...

where he was organist of St Mary's Church. He died in Warwick in 1962.

Compositions

His compositions ''Three Pieces'' were performed by the Montreal Orchestra in 1931, and ''Piece for Full Orchestra'' in 1936. Several works for choir have been published.

References

1893 births 1962 deaths Royal Navy officers of World War I Royal Navy officers Military personnel from Reading, Berkshire Musicians from Reading, Berkshire 20th-century organists English classical organists 20th-century British conductors (music) English conductors (music) Fellows of the Royal College of Organists {{England-musician-stub