Henry Brian Runnett (1935–1970) was a British

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 ...

and choral director. He was born in

Tyldesley Tyldesley () is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan in Greater Manchester, England. Within the boundaries of the historic county of Lancashire, it is north of Chat Moss near the foothills of the West Pennine Moors, southeast of Wigan ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

, in 1935 and was educated at the Liverpool Matthay School of Music, during which time he obtained the FRCO diploma with both Limpus and F J Read prizes in organ playing. His first organ post (at age 16) was at St. Stephen's Church, Hightown. From there he went to St. Andrew's,

Litherland Litherland is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, Merseyside. It was an urban district, which included Seaforth and Ford. It neighbours Waterloo to the north, Seaforth to the west, and Bootle to the south and is approximately north ...

, before moving in 1955 to

Chester Cathedral Chester Cathedral is a Church of England cathedral and the mother church of the Diocese of Chester. It is located in the city of Chester, Cheshire, England. The cathedral, formerly the abbey church of a Benedictine monastery dedicated to Sain ...

as assistant organist. In 1958 he obtained the degree of BMus from

Durham University , mottoeng = Her foundations are upon the holy hills (Psalm 87:1) , established = (university status) , type = Public , academic_staff = 1,830 (2020) , administrative_staff = 2,640 (2018/19) , chancellor = Sir Thomas Allen , vice_chan ...

. In 1960 he was appointed

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 ...

St John's College, Cambridge St John's College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge founded by the House of Tudor, Tudor matriarch Lady Margaret Beaufort. In constitutional terms, the college is a charitable corpo ...

, under Director of Music

George Guest George Guest CBE FRCO (9 February 1924 – 20 November 2002) was a Welsh organist and choral conductor. Birth and early life George Guest was born in Bangor, Gwynedd. His father was an organist and Guest assisted him by acting as organ blo ...

. Following Cambridge, in 1963 he was appointed Lecturer in Music and University Organist at

Manchester University , mottoeng = Knowledge, Wisdom, Humanity , established = 2004 – University of Manchester Predecessor institutions: 1956 – UMIST (as university college; university 1994) 1904 – Victoria University of Manchester 1880 – Victoria Univer ...

and in 1967 moved to

Norwich Cathedral Norwich Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in Norwich, Norfolk, dedicated to the Holy and Undivided Trinity. It is the cathedral church for the Church of England Diocese of Norwich and is one of the Norwich 12 heritage sites. The cathedral ...

as Organist and Master of the Choristers. He was a part-time lecturer at the

University of East Anglia The University of East Anglia (UEA) is a public research university in Norwich, England. Established in 1963 on a campus west of the city centre, the university has four faculties and 26 schools of study. The annual income of the institution f ...

. He recorded the

Hindemith Paul Hindemith (; 16 November 189528 December 1963) was a German composer, music theorist, teacher, violist and conductor. He founded the Amar Quartet in 1921, touring extensively in Europe. As a composer, he became a major advocate of the ' ...

Organ Sonatas on the then new Hill, Norman & Beard Chapel Organ at

Ellesmere College (''Striving for one's country'') , established = 1879 , song = ''Jerusalem'' , type = Public schoolIndependent schoolBoarding schoolDay School , religious_affiliation = Church of England , president = , head_label ...

in 1970 (LP - Cathedral Organ Masterworks CRMS-850). In 1968, Runnett succeeded Dr George Guest as director of the Berkshire Boys Choir, a summer-resident choir of 46 boys and 14 men under the auspices of the

Tanglewood Music Festival The Tanglewood Music Festival is a music festival held every summer on the Tanglewood estate in Stockbridge and Lenox in the Berkshire Hills in western Massachusetts. The festival consists of a series of concerts, including symphonic music, ch ...

in the Berkshire Hills of

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

(USA). The choir had been founded and conducted in 1967 by Dr Guest. In the 1968 (Summer) season, the choir appeared with the

Philadelphia Orchestra The Philadelphia Orchestra is an American symphony orchestra, based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. One of the " Big Five" American orchestras, the orchestra is based at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, where it performs its subscription ...

and sang in

Washington Cathedral The Cathedral Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul in the City and Diocese of Washington, commonly known as Washington National Cathedral, is an American cathedral of the Episcopal Church (United States), Episcopal Church. The cathedral is loc ...

and at

Rutgers University Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's ...

and

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...

, among other venues. Eleven selections from their large repertoire were collected on an album for RCA Records (''Alleluia'', LSC-3081), with Lowell Lacey as the organist. Runnett was killed in a car crash in 1970 whilst returning from an organ recital he had given in

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the United ...

. Composer

Kenneth Leighton Kenneth Leighton (2 October 1929 – 24 August 1988) was a British composer and pianist. His compositions include church and choral music, pieces for piano, organ, cello, oboe and other instruments, chamber music, concertos, ...

was commissioned by the Cathedral Organists' Association to write a memorial work for Runnett - his Second Evening Service (Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis). Norwich Cathedral has a Runnett Library in Runnett's memory, which contains all of his sheet music. It was donated to the cathedral by Runnett's parents following his death.

, also has a Brian Runnett Memorial organ competition, as well as trophies given out at the end of it.

References

1935 births 1970 deaths People from Tyldesley English classical organists British male organists Academics of the University of East Anglia Academics of the University of Manchester Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge Cathedral organists Road incident deaths in England Alumni of Durham University Fellows of the Royal College of Organists 20th-century classical musicians 20th-century English musicians 20th-century organists 20th-century British male musicians Male classical organists {{Organist-stub