Donald Frederick Hunt (26 July 1930 – 4 August 2018) was an English conductor, from

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...

. He was a distinguished English choral conductor, having made his conducting debut with the

Halifax Choral Society Halifax Choral Society is a choir based in the town of Halifax in the English county of West Yorkshire. It is notable for being the oldest amateur choral society in Britain (and possibly in the world) with an unbroken record of performance. ...

in 1957. As a boy, Hunt was a chorister at

Gloucester Cathedral Gloucester Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of St Peter and the Holy and Indivisible Trinity, in Gloucester, England, stands in the north of the city near the River Severn. It originated with the establishment of a minster dedicated to S ...

, and became assistant to the organist

Herbert Sumsion Herbert Whitton Sumsion (14 January 1899 – 11 August 1995) was an English musician who was organist of Gloucester Cathedral from 1928 to 1967. Through his leadership role with the Three Choirs Festival, Sumsion maintained close association ...

in his teens. From 1954 to 1975 he was organist at St John's Church, Torquay. He was later awarded a doctorate from

Leeds University , mottoeng = And knowledge will be increased , established = 1831 – Leeds School of Medicine1874 – Yorkshire College of Science1884 - Yorkshire College1887 – affiliated to the federal Victoria University1904 – University of Leeds , ...

(1975) honoris causa, and from 1958 until 1975 he was organist and choirmaster at

Leeds Parish Church Leeds Minster, or the Minster and Parish Church of Saint Peter-at-Leeds (formerly Leeds Parish Church) is the minster church of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It stands on the site of the oldest church in the city and is of architectural and l ...

, whilst concurrently holding positions with the Leeds Philharmonic Society, Halifax Choral Society, Huddersfield Glee & Madrigal Society and

Leeds Festival Chorus The Leeds Festival Chorus is based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It has 160 singing members in soprano, alto, tenor and bass sections. Presenting classical choral music of a professional standard in Yorkshire and elsewhere, including at the B ...

. He was also Leeds City Organist, and lectured at Leeds College of Music. In 1976 he became master of choristers and organist at

Worcester Cathedral Worcester Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in Worcester, in Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a county in the West Midlands of England. The area that is now Worcestershire was absorbed into the unified ...

, where he served until 1996. He was associated with the

Three Choirs Festival 200px, Worcester cathedral 200px, Gloucester cathedral The Three Choirs Festival is a music festival held annually at the end of July, rotating among the cathedrals of the Three Counties (Hereford, Gloucester and Worcester) and originally featu ...

and served as its artistic director and conductor eight times in the period from 1975 to 1996. In 1993 he was awarded an OBE. After he left

in 1996 he served as principal of the Elgar School of Music in Worcester (becoming music advisor after 2007) and leading many choral performances. He died on 4 August 2018 at the age of 88. Hunt was closely associated with the

Elgar Society The Elgar Society was founded in 1951 to promote performance of the music of British composer Edward Elgar, especially the more rarely performed items. Registered as a charity on 22 January 1988, It is particularly concerned with introducing the c ...

. His published books include studies of

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 ...

and

Samuel Sebastian Wesley Samuel Sebastian Wesley (14 August 1810 – 19 April 1876) was an English organist and composer. Wesley married Mary Anne Merewether and had 6 children. He is often referred to as S.S. Wesley to avoid confusion with his father Samuel Wesley. Bio ...

. His many recordings included works by Elgar and other British composers such as

Charles Villiers Stanford Sir Charles Villiers Stanford (30 September 1852 – 29 March 1924) was an Anglo-Irish composer, music teacher, and conductor of the late Romantic music, Romantic era. Born to a well-off and highly musical family in Dublin, Stanford was ed ...

and

Herbert Howells Herbert Norman Howells (17 October 1892 – 23 February 1983) was an English composer, organist, and teacher, most famous for his large output of Anglican church music. Life Background and early education Howells was born in Lydney, Gloucest ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hunt, Donald 1930 births 2018 deaths English choral conductors British male conductors (music) Officers of the Order of the British Empire People from Gloucester Musicians from Gloucestershire 20th-century British conductors (music) 20th-century English musicians 21st-century British conductors (music) 21st-century English musicians 20th-century British male musicians 21st-century British male musicians Music in Leeds