Reginald Robert John Dempster (30 August 1885 – 13 May 1942) was a church organist and choirmaster in South Australia.

History

Dempster was the elder son of Rev. Robert William George Dempster (6 January 1865 – 3 September 1931) and his wife Lydia May Dempster, née Ward, (1868 - 11 July 1946) who married in London on 30 January 1883 and shortly afterward left for South Australia. John Dempster was born at

Montacute, South Australia Montacute is a small regional area in the Adelaide Hills, South Australia. Montacute is located on Fifth Creek, and the mostly-rural suburb extends from Rostrevor in the west to Lenswood in the east, bounded on the north by Castambul and on ...

and educated at St. Peter's College. He began his musical career as a chorister at St. Peter's Cathedral at the age of eight. He won a choir scholarship at the college, and also received piano and organ lessons from W. M. "Billy" Hole, the college chapel's organist and choirmaster who died 25 April 1935. He further studied organ playing under Arthur H. Otto at St Peter's Cathedral. He was organist and choirmaster of St Matthews Church,

Kensington Kensington is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in the West End of London, West of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up b ...

, then in October 1909 succeeded A. H. Otto at

St John's Church, Adelaide St. John's is an Anglican church at the south-east corner of the City of Adelaide dating from 1841. The first building was demolished in 1886 and its replacement opened in 1887. The first church In 1840 the first Anglican church building, Trin ...

, and served there to 1924. Dempster succeeded W. R. Knox as City Organist in 1928. This appointment was attended by controversy, as Dempster was appointed without any competitive evaluation, and eminent musicians John Horner, Frederic Finlay and W. Lawrence Haggitt, who had all applied, signed a public letter airing their sense of injustice, and implying he was a poor choice. The fact that Dempster would receive a salary where previously it was an honorary position, made the choice additionally problematic. He conducted the Adelaide Women's Choir from its foundation in 1934 to November 1936 or perhaps later. He was in March 1937 foundation conductor of the

Adelaide Philharmonic Choir Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The demo ...

, supported by the

Australian Broadcasting Commission The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is the national broadcaster of Australia. It is principally funded by direct grants from the Australian Government and is administered by a government-appointed board. The ABC is a publicly-owned ...

radio station 5CL and gave its first public concert in October 1937. and remained actively connected until shortly before his death, when it was taken over by

Norman Chinner Norman Chinner LRSM OBE (7 August 1909 – 5 November 1961) was a South Australian organist and choirmaster. History Chinner was born in Malvern, South Australia, a son of Charles Williams Chinner (18 July 1866 – 21 March 1953) and Winnifred ...

. He wrote many articles on the Adelaide music scene for the newspapers, and for the last seven years of his life was music critic for The Sunday Mail. He was appointed choirmaster and organist at Flinders Street Baptist Church in May 1938, where he served until early in 1942, when forced by ill health to retire. He died three months later, and his remains were interred at the

North Road Cemetery North Road Cemetery is located in the Adelaide suburb of Nailsworth, approximately 5 km north of the central business district. It is 7.3 hectares (18 acres) in size and there have been over 26,000 burials since its foundation in 1853. Th ...

Family

(Reginald Robert) John Dempster married Hilda Lane (c. 1885 – 13 February 1948) on 7 July 1914. They had two daughters: *Christobel Dempster (25 June 1818 – c. 2008) married Arthur Franklin ( – ) at St Matthew's Church, Marryatville, on 20 December 1941. *Greta Ellman Dempster (17 September 1923 – 6 June 1999) married Ference "Frank" Frolich (c. 1915 - 15 January 1985) on 12 July 1947 They had a home at 54

Hutt Street, Adelaide Hutt Street is the easternmost of the five major north–south roads running through the City of Adelaide. It runs from Pirie Street to South Terrace, from where it continues south as Hutt Road. Flanked by leafy side streets with many late 19th ...

. William Robert Dempster (6 July 1887 – 29 January 1956) of Tanunda was a brother.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dempster, John 1885 births 1942 deaths Australian classical organists Male classical organists Australian choral conductors 20th-century organists 20th-century conductors (music) 20th-century Australian male musicians 20th-century Australian musicians