Richard Jeremy Drakeford (5 November 1936 – 12 November 2009) was a British

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" also ...

. Born in

Southwark Southwark ( ) is a district of Central London situated on the south bank of the River Thames, forming the north-western part of the wider modern London Borough of Southwark. The district, which is the oldest part of South London, developed ...

(

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

), Drakeford became a composition pupil of

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 ...

and

Edmund Rubbra Edmund Rubbra (; 23 May 190114 February 1986) was a British composer. He composed both instrumental and vocal works for soloists, chamber groups and full choruses and orchestras. He was greatly esteemed by fellow musicians and was at the peak o ...

and studied at

Worcester College, Oxford Worcester College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. The college was founded in 1714 by the benefaction of Sir Thomas Cookes, 2nd Baronet (1648–1701) of Norgrove, Worcestershire, whose coat of arms w ...

, where he was the

Organ Scholar An organ scholar is a young musician employed as a part-time assistant organist at a cathedral, church or institution where regular choral services are held. The idea of an organ scholarship is to provide the holder with playing, directing and adm ...

between 1955 and 1958. He was one of the founders, in 1961, of the Little Missenden usicFestival and acted as its Music Advisor until his death. Several of his compositions were published by Novello. He was also active as a music teacher and critic, writing for several publications including The Musical Times. He taught music at

Harrow School (The Faithful Dispensation of the Gifts of God) , established = (Royal Charter) , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent schoolBoarding school , religion = Church of E ...

between 1961 and 1985, serving as the school's Director of Music from 1976.Harrow School Register 2002 8th edition edited by S W Bellringer & published by The Harrow Association His output includes three string trios (1957, 1959, 1960, rev.1993); two string quartets (1959, 1961–90); several piano works ('A Handful of Pleasant Delights' 1955; Hors d'Oeuvre', 1955–61; Blue Notes, 1961); Trio for 3 oboes (1957) Suite No.2 for solo cello (1957–59), Oboe Quartet (1959); an opera 'The Sely Child' (1982) and several sets of songs ('Three Nonsense Songs' 1960; Four Auden Songs' 1967–69; 'Six Songs in Memory of Benjamin Britten', 1977; 'Robert Graves Songs', 1979).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Drakeford, Richard 1936 births 2009 deaths British classical composers British classical organists British male organists British music educators Teachers at Harrow School Alumni of Worcester College, Oxford 20th-century organists 20th-century British male musicians Male classical organists