Betty Roe (born 30 July 1930) is an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

composer, singer, vocal coach, and conductor.

Biography

Betty Roe was born in

North Kensington North Kensington is an area of west London. It is north of Notting Hill and south of Kensal Green and in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. The names North Kensington and Ladbroke Grove describe the same area. North Kensington is wh ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, 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 dow ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

. Her father was a

fishmonger A fishmonger (historically fishwife for female practitioners) is someone who sells raw fish and seafood. Fishmongers can be wholesalers or retailers and are trained at selecting and purchasing, handling, gutting, boning, filleting, displaying, ...

at the

Shepherd's Bush Market Shepherd's Bush Market is a street market in Shepherd's Bush, London. The market is located on the east side of the railway viaduct for the Hammersmith and City Tube line, and is bordered on the north side by the Uxbridge Road, and on the south ...

, and her mother was a bookkeeper. Roe took piano lessons from the age of six with local teacher Madam Dorina.Biography, Divine Arts Recordings
/ref> She began writing music and arrangements in her teens during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

when assisting with choirs at the local church. As a Junior Exhibitioner she studied piano with Fiona Addie, Muriel Dale, and Sadie MacCormack, and

cello The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a bowed (sometimes plucked and occasionally hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually tuned in perfect fifths: from low to high, C2, G2, ...

with Alison Dalrymple 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 ...

, but left school in 1947 and took a job as a filing clerk. She continued at the Royal Academy in 1949, studying piano with York Bowen, cello with Alison Dalrymple, and voice with Jean McKenzie-Grieve. She continued her study of singing with

Clive Carey Francis Clive Savill Carey CBE (30 May 188330 April 1968), known as Clive Carey, was an English baritone, singing teacher, composer, opera producer and folk song collector. Biography Clive Carey was born at Sible Hedingham, Essex, in 1883. He ...

, Roy Hickman, Peter van der Stolk, and Margaret Field-Hyde, and studied composition with

Lennox Berkeley Sir Lennox Randal Francis Berkeley (12 May 190326 December 1989) was an English composer. Biography Berkeley was born on 12 May 1903 in Oxford, England, the younger child and only son of Aline Carla (1863–1935), daughter of Sir James Cha ...

. In the 1950s Roe became involved with a drama group where she began writing for musicals. She also worked as a sessions singer with London ensembles, and in light entertainment with celebrities including

Cliff Richard Sir Cliff Richard (born Harry Rodger Webb; 14 October 1940) is an Indian-born British musican, singer, producer, entrepreneur and philanthropist who holds both British and Barbadian citizenship. He has total sales of over 21.5 million ...

Harry Secombe Sir Harold Donald Secombe (8 September 1921 – 11 April 2001) was a Welsh comedian, actor, singer and television presenter. Secombe was a member of the British radio comedy programme ''The Goon Show'' (1951–1960), playing many characters, ...

Cilla Black Priscilla Maria Veronica White (27 May 1943 – 1 August 2015), better known as Cilla Black, was an English singer, actress and television presenter. Championed by her friends the Beatles, Black began her career as a singer in 1963. Her ...

The Two Ronnies ''The Two Ronnies'' is a British television comedy sketch show starring Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbett. It was created by Bill Cotton and aired on BBC1 from April 1971 to December 1987. The usual format included sketches, solo sections, ser ...

(with whom she appeared on television conducting "The Plumstead Ladies Male Voice Choir") and on

Top of the Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British Record chart, music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show ...

. Roe married John Bishop and had three children. She was Director of Music at the

London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art The London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA) is a drama school located in Hammersmith, London. It is the oldest specialist drama school in the British Isles and a founding member of the Federation of Drama Schools. LAMDA's Principal is ...

from 1968–78, and founded the NorthKen Choir/Chorale/Opera in the 1960s. She founded Thames Publishing with her husband in 1970. After his death in 2000 Thames Publishing became a division of William Elkin Music Services. Roe received an MBE for services to Classical Music and Composition in the

2011 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 2011 were announced on 31 December 2010 in the United Kingdom,United Kingdom: New Zealand,New Zealand"New Year Honours 2011"(14 January 2011) 2 ''New Zealand Gazette'' 55. The Cook IslandsThe Cook Islands: Grenada,Grenada: ...

Works

Roe has composed over 300 solo songs, as well as

choral 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 s ...

and

sacred music Religious music (also sacred music) is a type of music that is performed or composed for religious use or through religious influence. It may overlap with ritual music, which is music, sacred or not, performed or composed for or as ritual. Relig ...

, musicals, operas,

instrumental piece An instrumental is a recording normally without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through semantic widening, a broader sense of the word song may refer to instrum ...

s, and music for schools.

Malcolm Williamson Malcolm Benjamin Graham Christopher Williamson, (21 November 19312 March 2003) was an Australian composer. He was the Master of the Queen's Music from 1975 until his death. Biography Williamson was born in Sydney in 1931; his father was an A ...

admired her ''Magnificat and Nunc Dimitis'' (1962) and arranged for it to be published.Snedden, Iain.
Betty Roe: The first 80 years
at MusicWeb International ''Christus Victor'' (1964) set words by John Catterick, the Rector of Ashwell Parish Church. It prefigured the use of popular music forms in church music, and was published by Novello.

Alan Ridout Alan Ridout (9 December 1934 – 19 March 1996) was a British composer and teacher. Life Born in West Wickham, Kent, England, Alan Ridout studied briefly at the Guildhall School of Music before commencing four years of study at the Royal C ...

described it as "the next Stainer's Crucifixion". Her best known song is perhaps 'Nursery Rhyme of Innocence and Experience', one of three

Charles Causley Charles Stanley Causley CBE FRSL (24 August 1917 – 4 November 2003) was a British poet, school teacher and writer. His work is often noted for its simplicity and directness as well as its associations with folklore, legends and magic, espec ...

settings for children's voices collected under the title ''Union Street'' in 1971). Roe herself has cited the ''Three Herrick Songs'' (1969) for soprano and wind quintet as "one of the best things I have written". Other vocal works include: *''Diva's Lament'', words by Jacqueline Froom (1995) *''All The Day'', four songs to words by Leonard Clark, Thames Publishing *''Four Ponder Songs'' *''Noble Numbers'', words by Robert Herrick (1972) *''Three Childhoods'', words by Charles Causley, for two part choir *''Three Shakespeare Songs'' Her compositions have been recorded and issued on CD, including: *''The Family Tree, music for children'' (Audio CD - March 31, 1998) Somm Recordings, ASIN: B000006B6U *
Jazz Songs; Euphonium Dance'' and ''Madam and the Minister
', Centaur Records CRC 2510 (1997) *''Music for Children By Betty Roe'' (Audio CD - Feb 24, 1998) Somm Recordings, ASIN: B0000265HD *''The Music Tree: Solo Songs by Betty Roe'' (Audio CD - Mar 31, 1998) Somm Recordings, ASIN: B000006B6T *
Noble Numbers
', Signum Classics CD SIGCD161 (2009) *
The Silver Hound and other songs
' (Audio CD - July 2017), Divine Art Recordings, MSV 28566

Works with Marian Lines

Roe has worked in partnership with

librettist A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major litu ...

Marian Lines Marian Alice Lines (née Berry-Hart; 27 November 1933 – 10 November 2012) was a British writer and actress. The majority of Lines' works are libretti for musical productions, and many are for performance by children. Biography Her mother w ...

to produce six operas, twelve musicals, a

pantomime Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment. It was developed in England and is performed throughout the United Kingdom, Ireland and (to a lesser extent) in other English-speakin ...

, and a number of choral works. Opera: *''The Legend of Gallant Bevis of Southampton'' (1977) *''Gaslight'' *''A Flight of Pilgrims'' (1992) *''Lunch at the Cooked Goose'' (2000) *''Welcome to Purgatory'' (2003) *''Brunel: The Little Man in the Tall Hat'' (2006) *'' Swindon: The Opera'' (2012) Musicals: *''The Barnstormers'' (1976) *''Kookajoo and the Magic Forest'' *''The Most Wanted Faces'' (1978) *''Pardon our Rubbish'' *''Christmas Boxes'' (1980) From which are extracted the songs, ''Christmas Cards''. *''The Trouble with spells is...'' (1982) *''The Mistress of Charlecote Park'' *''Destination London'' (Contributed two numbers) *''The Miracle Masque'' (1983) *''The Pink Parakeet'' (1984) *''Crowds'' (1988) *''Astron'' (1994) *''The Storm Hound'' (1996) Based on the legend of

Black Shuck In English folklore, Black Shuck, Old Shuck, Old Shock or simply Shuck is the name given to a ghostly black dog which is said to roam the coastline and countryside of East Anglia, one of many such black dogs recorded in folklore across the Br ...

*''Floating'' (2002) *''The Magic Fishbone'' (Awaiting publication) Based on the short story by

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian er ...

Choral works: *''Burd Ellen'' (1976) *''A Crown of Briar Roses'' (1977) For

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

’s Silver Jubilee *''Circe Beguiled, a scena'' (1978). An encounter between

Odysseus Odysseus ( ; grc-gre, Ὀδυσσεύς, Ὀδυσεύς, OdysseúsOdyseús, ), also known by the Latin variant Ulysses ( , ; lat, UlyssesUlixes), is a legendary Greek king of Ithaca and the hero of Homer's epic poem the ''Odyssey''. Odys ...

and the witch

Circe Circe (; grc, , ) is an enchantress and a minor goddess in ancient Greek mythology and religion. She is either a daughter of the Titan Helios and the Oceanid nymph Perse or the goddess Hecate and Aeëtes. Circe was renowned for her vas ...

. *''A Quire of Elements'' (1978) *''The Blacksmith and the Changeling'' *''Songs for City Children'' *''The Family Tree'' (1982) *''A Cat's Tale'' (1990) *''A Cycle of Elements'' (1995) *''St George and the Dragon'' (1995) *''Sing the Millennium'' (1999) *''Dick Whittington'' (2005) *''Blue John'' (2012)

References

External links

Official site with full list of works

Betty Roe Society
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roe, Betty 1930 births 20th-century British composers 20th-century classical composers 20th-century British conductors (music) 20th-century English singers 20th-century English women singers 21st-century British conductors (music) 21st-century English women musicians 21st-century classical pianists Alumni of the Royal Academy of Music British vocal coaches English classical cellists English classical composers English conductors (music) English opera composers English classical pianists English women pianists Women classical composers Women opera composers Living people Musicians from London People associated with the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art People from Kensington 20th-century women composers 20th-century cellists 21st-century cellists Women conductors (music) 20th-century women pianists 21st-century women pianists