Victor Edward Galway (24 May 1894 – 9 July 1960) was a New Zealand music academic,

organist An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ (music), organ. An organist may play organ repertoire, solo organ works, play with an musical ensemble, ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumentalist, instrumental ...

, conductor 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 ...

Biography

Victor Galway was born in

Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in Essex, in the East of England. It had a population of 122,000 in 2011. The demonym is Colcestrian. Colchester occupies the site of Camulodunum, the first major city in Roman Britain and its first capital. Colches ...

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

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in 1894. He studied organ under Frederick Ely. In 1911 he emigrated with his family to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, where he studied music at the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb nor ...

. He graduated with a Bachelor of Music degree in 1916, and in 1923 became the university's first student to complete the requirements for the Doctor of Music degree. In 1919 Galway moved to

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

, to take up the position of organist and choirmaster at First Church of Otago. He became the first lecturer in music at the

University of Otago , image_name = University of Otago Registry Building2.jpg , image_size = , caption = University clock tower , motto = la, Sapere aude , mottoeng = Dare to be wise , established = 1869; 152 years ago , type = Public research collegiate u ...

in 1926, and the first Blair Professor of Music at the university in 1939 (so named after the benefactor John Blair). He became Dunedin City organist in 1930. Through the university, Galway would give weekly public music classes, during which he would call on

Honor McKellar Winifred Honor McKellar (born 10 November 1920) is a New Zealand former mezzo-soprano opera singer and singing teacher, and was the first full-time lecturer in singing at the University of Otago in Dunedin. Her students have included Jonathan ...

to illustrate examples. Galway also served as conductor of the Dunedin Choral Society, conductor of the Otago University Musical Society, and president of the Otago Society of Musicians. Most of his compositions were for choral music, and several of his pieces were published by Oxford University Press. In 1935, he was awarded the

King George V Silver Jubilee Medal The King George V Silver Jubilee Medal is a commemorative medal, instituted to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the accession of King George V. Issue This medal was awarded as a personal souvenir by King George V to commemorate his Silver J ...

, and in 1953, he was awarded the

Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal The Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal (french: link=no, Médaille du couronnement de la Reine Élizabeth II) is a commemorative medal instituted to celebrate the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II on 2 June 1953. Award This medal was awarded a ...

. Galway suffered a stroke in 1954 and shortly afterwards retired from the University of Otago. He died at Cherry Farm Hospital, near Dunedin, on 9 July 1960, survived by his daughter. His wife Janette, whom he married in 1917, predeceased him.

Selected works

* ''"Who is Sylvia?"'' - choral work * Six works in the ''Dominion Song Book No. 13'' (1949) * ''Magnificat in G'' * ''Nunc Dimittis in G'' * Two anthems: ''Let us now praise famous men'' and ''Grant, we beseech thee''

References

External links

Portrait of Victor Galway (1931) on Tiaki, Alexander Turnbull Library
{{DEFAULTSORT:Galway, Victor Edward 1894 births 1960 deaths New Zealand composers Male composers Musicians from Dunedin People from Colchester British emigrants to Australia University of Melbourne alumni University of Otago faculty 20th-century composers 20th-century male musicians Australian emigrants to New Zealand

Biography

Selected works

References

Further reading

External links