John Bayley (circa 1847 – 1910) was an English

bandmaster A bandmaster is the leader and conductor of a band, usually a concert band, military band, brass band or a marching band. British Armed Forces In the British Army, bandmasters of the Royal Corps of Army Music now hold the rank of staff s ...

clarinet The clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The instrument has a nearly cylindrical bore and a flared bell, and uses a single reed to produce sound. Clarinets comprise a family of instruments of differing sizes and pitches ...

ist,

violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...

ist, and

organist An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ (music), organ. An organist may play organ repertoire, solo organ works, play with an musical ensemble, ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumentalist, instrumental ...

who was active in his native country and North America. Cornetist

Herbert L. Clarke Herbert Lincoln Clarke (September 12, 1867 – January 30, 1945) was an American cornetist, feature soloist, bandmaster, and composer. He is considered the most prominent cornetist of his time. Clarke's legacy includes composing a portion of th ...

described him in his autobiography as "a finished musician of high order; he was a remarkable organist... and one of the best clarinetists I have ever heard in my life."

Life and career

Born in

Windsor, Berkshire Windsor is a historic market town and unparished area in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in Berkshire, England. It is the site of Windsor Castle, one of the official residences of the British monarch. The town is situated west of ...

, Bayley was named after his father, John Bayley (d 1871), a

cornet The cornet (, ) is a brass instrument similar to the trumpet but distinguished from it by its conical bore, more compact shape, and mellower tone quality. The most common cornet is a transposing instrument in B, though there is also a sopr ...

soloist and conductor who was trained in Chelsea (London) at the

Royal Military Asylum The Duke of York's Royal Military School, more commonly called the Duke of York's, is a co-educational academy (for students aged 11 to 18) with military traditions in Guston, Kent. Since becoming an academy in 2010, the school is now sponsor ...

for boys. In 1850 the family immigrated to the United States, settling in Philadelphia. The family moved to San Francisco in 1857 and then a year later left there for

Victoria, British Columbia Victoria is the capital city of the Canadian province of British Columbia, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of 91,867, and the Greater Victoria area has a population of 397,237. Th ...

in the enthusiasm of the

Fraser Canyon Gold Rush The Fraser Canyon Gold Rush, (also Fraser Gold Rush and Fraser River Gold Rush) began in 1858 after gold was discovered on the Thompson River in British Columbia at its confluence with the Nicoamen River a few miles upstream from the Thompson's c ...

. In Victoria, Bayley Sr served as the city's inspector of police and was the first conductor of the Victoria Philharmonic Society (VPS). For the VPS's first concert on 6 May 1859 the younger Bayley performed as both a violinist and clarinet soloist. A 10 May 1859 '' Victoria Gazette'' review stated that his clarinet solo was "enthusiastically encored". In 1861 the family returned to England, partly to provide Bayley Jr with superior music teachers than could be found in the United States. He entered the

London Academy of Music The London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA) is a drama school located in Hammersmith, London. It is the oldest specialist drama school in the British Isles and a founding member of the Federation of Drama Schools. LAMDA's Principal is ...

where

Leopold Jansa Leopold Jansa (23 March 1795, Wildenschwert ( cs, Ústí nad Orlicí), far north-east Bohemia, Austrian Empire – 25 January 1875, Vienna) was a Bohemian violinist, composer, and teacher. He was born in Wildenschwert, Austria-Hungary (present d ...

was his violin instructor and

Henry Wylde Henry Wylde (22 May 1822 – 13 March 1890) was an English conductor, composer, teacher and music critic. Background Henry Wylde was born at Bushey, Hertfordshire, elder son of Henry Wylde (1795–1876) and Martha Lucy née Paxton. His fat ...

taught him

harmony In music, harmony is the process by which individual sounds are joined together or composed into whole units or compositions. Often, the term harmony refers to simultaneously occurring frequencies, pitches ( tones, notes), or chords. However ...

. From 1869 to 1876 he served as bandmaster of the

46th (South Devonshire) Regiment of Foot The 46th (South Devonshire) Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1741. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 32nd (Cornwall) Regiment of Foot to form the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry in 1881, ...

. In 1877 Bayley returned to Canada where he lived in Montreal through 1879. He served as bandmaster of

The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada ("In peace prepared") , colours = None (Rifle regiments have no colours) , march = , mascot = , battle_honours = See #Battle honours , website ...

Band & Bugles in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

from 1879 to 1901 and was second violinist in the first

Toronto String Quartette The Toronto String Quartette (TSQ) was the name of three un-related professional Canadian string quartets based in Toronto, Ontario. The first TSQ: 1884-1887 The first Toronto String Quartette was formed in 1884 by the newly established Toronto Qu ...

from 1884 to 1887. In 1887 he created a Citizens' Band which performed for one season on Toronto's Centre Island. He served for one year as first violin in the second Toronto String Quartette in 1894. He moved to

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from South ...

after leaving the Queen's Own Rifles.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bayley, John 1840s births 1910 deaths Alumni of the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art English cornetists Canadian bandleaders Canadian classical musicians Canadian conductors (music) English male conductors (music) Canadian trumpeters Male trumpeters Queen's Own Rifles of Canada soldiers Military personnel from Berkshire Musicians from Windsor, Berkshire