Anthony James Keith "Tony" Hymas (born 23 September 1943) is an English keyboard player, pianist, and

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 ...

Career

Hymas started as a

chorister A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which sp ...

Exeter Cathedral School Exeter Cathedral School (ECS) is a 3–13 mixed, Church of England, independent day and boarding choir and preparatory school in Exeter, Devon, England. It has been closely associated with Exeter Cathedral since it was first recorded as exi ...

, where his contemporaries included composer and cathedral organist Barry Ferguson, and singer and pianist Roger Cleverdon. After leaving school, Hymas studied piano with Harold Rubens at 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 ...

. As company pianist for the

Ballet Rambert Rambert (known as Rambert Dance Company before 2014) is a leading British dance company. Formed at the start of the 20th century as a classical ballet company, it exerted a great deal of influence on the development of dance in the United Kingd ...

in its resurgent 'modern' form, Hymas wrote a substitute score for

Glen Tetley Glen Tetley (February 3, 1926 – January 26, 2007) was an American ballet and modern dancer as well as a choreographer who mixed ballet and modern dance to create a new way of looking at dance, and is best known for his piece ''Pierrot Lunaire ...

's ''Rag Dances'' over the course of eight days. After his employment at Rambert, Hymas found work in the busy London session scene of the 1970s. In 1974 he composed the theme song to the UK television series ''

Mr Men ''Mr. Men'' is a British series of children's books by English author Roger Hargreaves which began publication in August 1971. From 1981, an accompanying series of Little Miss books by the same author (but with female characters) was published. ...

'', based on the children's books by

Roger Hargreaves Charles Roger Hargreaves (9 May 1935 – 11 September 1988) was an English author and illustrator of children's books. He created the ''Mr. Men'' series, ''Little Miss'' series and ''Timbuctoo'' series, intended for young readers. The simple and ...

. Hymas played with

Jack Bruce John Symon Asher Bruce (14 May 1943 – 25 October 2014) was a Scottish bassist, singer-songwriter, musician and composer. He gained popularity as the primary lead vocalist and ‍bassist ‍of British rock band Cream. After the group disbande ...

in the Jack Bruce Band between 1976 and 1978. He accompanied guitarist

Jeff Beck Geoffrey Arnold Beck (born 24 June 1944) is an English rock guitarist. He rose to prominence with the Yardbirds and after fronted the Jeff Beck Group and Beck, Bogert & Appice. In 1975, he switched to a mainly instrumental style, with a focus ...

, appearing with him on the 1980 album '' There & Back''. He also wrote songs for Beck, including "Angel Footsteps" and "Brush with the Blues". In 1980, Hymas and Beck's drummer Simon Philips hired Scottish singer Jim Diamond for the trio

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

The band had a Top 10 hit in the UK with the song " I Won't Let You Down" in 1982, but disbanded a year later after poor sales of their subsequent singles and Diamond's decision to return to his solo career. He also plays keyboards and synthesizers on Jeff Beck's 1989 album "

Jeff Beck's Guitar Shop ''Jeff Beck's Guitar Shop'' is the sixth studio album by guitarist Jeff Beck, released in October 1989 through Epic Records.Astarita, Glenn"Jeff Beck's Guitar Shop - Jeff Beck" ''AllMusic''. RhythmOne. Retrieved 31 March 2020. The album reached ...

". Hymas continued to collaborate with Diamond on his solo projects; the duo released a third Ph.D. album in 2009 entitled ''Three'' and remained active until Diamond's death in 2015. Hymas composed and sang on the track "Desperate for Your Love", the opening song on the 1985 album, ''The Great Balloon Race'', by progressive rock band

Sky The sky is an unobstructed view upward from the surface of the Earth. It includes the atmosphere and outer space. It may also be considered a place between the ground and outer space, thus distinct from outer space. In the field of astronomy, ...

. His albums include ''De l'origine du Monde'' (2010), ''Chroniques de resistance'' (2013), ''Hope Street'' (Nato), and ''I Will Not Take 'But' for an Answer'' (2010) with the band Ursus Minor. In 2016, he recorded ''Tony Hymas joue Léo Ferré'', an album of piano transcriptions of songs by

Léo Ferré Léo Ferré (24 August 1916 – 14 July 1993) was a French-born Monégasque poet and composer, and a dynamic and controversial live performer, whose career in France dominated the years after the Second World War until his death. He released s ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hymas, Tony People educated at Haydon School Alumni of the Royal Academy of Music English keyboardists English composers English pianists Living people 1943 births Ph.D. (band) members 21st-century pianists People educated at Exeter Cathedral School