Maurice Miles (190826 June 1985) was an English conductor known for championing the music of twentieth century British composers.

Biography

Early life and studies

Miles was educated at

Wells Cathedral School Wells Cathedral School is a co-educational independent school located in Wells, Somerset, England. The school is one of the five specialist musical schools for school-age children in the United Kingdom, along with Chetham's School of Music, the ...

and won a scholarship to the

Royal Academy of Music The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is the oldest conservatoire in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the first Duke of ...

, where he studied violin, voice and piano. He later studied conducting at the

Mozarteum University Salzburg Mozarteum University Salzburg (German: ''Universität Mozarteum Salzburg'') is one of three affiliated but separate (it is actually a state university) entities under the “Mozarteum” moniker in Salzburg municipality; the International Moz ...

under

Clemens Krauss Clemens Heinrich Krauss (31 March 189316 May 1954) was an Austrian conductor and opera impresario, particularly associated with the music of Richard Strauss, Johann Strauss and Richard Wagner. Krauss was born in Vienna to Clementine Krauss, the ...

Career

In the 1930s, Miles worked for the BBC as well as in Bath, conducting the Pump Room Orchestra. Miles was appointed principal conductor of the newly formed

Yorkshire Symphony Orchestra The Yorkshire Symphony Orchestra (YSO) is an orchestra based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It was first active from its establishment in 1947 until its demise in 1955, and then revived in 2021. Initially based in the Leeds Town Hall, it is no ...

in 1947 and remained in that post until 1954. The orchestra was known for its adventurous programming during his tenure, including contemporary British music and a rare performance of

Arthur Honegger Arthur Honegger (; 10 March 1892 – 27 November 1955) was a Swiss composer who was born in France and lived a large part of his life in Paris. A member of Les Six, his best known work is probably ''Antigone'', composed between 1924 and 1927 to ...

's oratorio King David. In 1955 Miles was appointed conductor of the City of Belfast Orchestra, a large part-time symphony orchestra made up of members from the BBC Northern Ireland orchestra and local players. In 1966 the

Arts Council of Northern Ireland The Arts Council of Northern Ireland (Irish: ''Comhairle Ealaíon Thuaisceart Éireann'', Ulster-Scots: ''Airts Cooncil o Norlin Airlan'') is the lead development agency for the arts in Northern Ireland. It was founded in 1964, as a successor to ...

decided to establish the

Ulster Orchestra The Ulster Orchestra, based in Belfast, is the only full-time professional orchestra in Northern Ireland. The orchestra plays the majority of its concerts in Belfast's Ulster Hall and Waterfront Hall. It also gives concerts across the United Ki ...

, a fully professional orchestra of 37 players. Miles was heavily involved in the creation of this new orchestra was appointed its first principal conductor. Despite some successes in the inaugural season, in 1967 unrest within the orchestra prompted Miles to resign his post. Throughout his career Miles was a frequent guest conductor at the

BBC Proms The BBC Proms or Proms, formally named the Henry Wood Promenade Concerts Presented by the BBC, is an eight-week summer season of daily orchestral classical music concerts and other events held annually, predominantly in the Royal Albert Hal ...

concerts and with BBC orchestras throughout the UK. He was Professor of conducting at the

and in 1977 published a handbook on conducting.

Personal life

Maurice Miles was married to Eileen Spencer Wood and had one son and two daughters.

Writings

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Miles, Maurice 1908 births 1977 deaths Fellows of the Royal Academy of Music Conductors associated with the BBC Proms English conductors (music) British male conductors (music) BBC Orchestras