Lionel Frederick Dakers (24 February 1924 – 10 March 2003) was an English cathedral organist who served in

Ripon Cathedral The Cathedral Church of St Peter and St Wilfrid, commonly known as Ripon Cathedral, and until 1836 known as Ripon Minster, is a cathedral in Ripon, North Yorkshire, England. Founded as a monastery by monks of the Irish tradition in the 660s, i ...

and

Exeter Cathedral Exeter Cathedral, properly known as the Cathedral Church of Saint Peter in Exeter, is an Anglican cathedral, and the seat of the Bishop of Exeter, in the city of Exeter, Devon, in South West England. The present building was complete by about 140 ...

Background

Dakers was born on 24 February 1924 in

Rochester, Kent Rochester ( ) is a town in the unitary authority of Medway, in Kent, England. It is at the lowest bridging point of the River Medway, about from London. The town forms a conurbation with neighbouring towns Chatham, Rainham, Strood and Gillin ...

. He studied organ under

Harold Aubie Bennett Harold Aubie Bennett FRCO, FTCL, Hon.RCM (30 July 1891 - 4 February 1978) was a composer and organist based in England. Life He was born in Eccles, Lancashire in 1891, the son of William Arthur Bennett. He was educated at Leeds Central High Scho ...

Rochester Cathedral Rochester Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary, is an English church of Norman architecture in Rochester, Kent. The church is the cathedral of the Diocese of Rochester in the Church of England and the s ...

and

Edward Bairstow Sir Edward Cuthbert Bairstow (22 August 18741 May 1946) was an English organist and composer in the Anglican church music tradition. Life and career Bairstow was born in Trinity Street, Huddersfield in 1874. His grandfather Oates Bairstow was ...

York Minster The Cathedral and Metropolitical Church of Saint Peter in York, commonly known as York Minster, is the cathedral of York, North Yorkshire, England, and is one of the largest of its kind in Northern Europe. The minster is the seat of the Archbis ...

. He was a Special Commissioner for 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 ...

(1958–1972); Director of the

(1972–1990); President of the

Incorporated Association of Organists An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ. An organist may play solo organ works, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumental soloists. In addition, an organist may accompany congregational h ...

(1972–1975); Secretary of the

Cathedral Organists' Association A cathedral is a church that contains the ''cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominations ...

(1972–1988); and President 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 ...

(1976–1978). He was appointed

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

in 1983.

Family life

Dakers married Elisabeth Williams (d. 1997) in 1952. They had four daughters. He died in

Salisbury Salisbury ( ) is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers Avon, Nadder and Bourne. The city is approximately from Southampton and from Bath. Salisbury is in the southeast of Wil ...

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...

, on 10 March 2003.

Career

Assistant organist of: *

St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle in England is a castle chapel built in the late-medieval Perpendicular Gothic style. It is both a Royal peculiar, Royal Peculiar (a church under the direct jurisdiction of the monarch) and the Chapel of the O ...

(1950–1954) Organist of: * All Saints' Church, Frindsbury, Rochester (1939–1942) *

Cathedral of Our Lady of Fatima, Cairo The Cathedral of Our Lady of Fatima or just Chaldean Catholic Cathedral in Cairo is a religious building that is affiliated with the Catholic Church and is located in the city of Cairo, the capital of the African country of Egypt. It is a temple t ...

(1945–1947) *Finchley Parish Church (1948–1950) *

(1954–1957) *

(1957–1972)

Publications

*1970: ''Church Music at the Crossroads'' *1976: ''A Handbook of Parish Music''; Mowbray *1978: ''Making Church Music Work'' *1980: ''Music and the

Alternative Service Book The ''Alternative Service Book 1980'' (''ASB'') was the first complete prayer book produced by the Church of England since 1662. Its name derives from the fact that it was proposed not as a replacement for the 1662 ''Book of Common Prayer'' (B ...

'' (as editor) *1980: ''The Chorister's Companion'' (as editor) *1980: ''The Psalms – Their Use and Performance'' (as editor) *1982: ''The Church Musician as Conductor'' *1982: ''A Handbook of Parish Music''; revised; Mowbray *1984: ''Church Music in a Changing World'' *1985: ''Choosing – and Using – Hymns'' *1991: ''Parish Music'' (3rd ed. of the ''Handbook''); Canterbury Press *1995: ''Places Where They Sing – Memoirs of a Church Musician''; Canterbury Press

References

1924 births 2003 deaths English classical organists British male organists Cathedral organists Commanders of the Order of the British Empire 20th-century classical musicians 20th-century English musicians 20th-century organists 20th-century British male musicians People from Rochester, Kent Male classical organists {{Organist-stub