Jonathan Leonard Bielby (born 23 November 1944) 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 ide ...

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...

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 composer of organ music. In 2010 he retired from

Wakefield Cathedral Wakefield Cathedral, or the Cathedral Church of All Saints in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England, is a co-equal Anglican cathedral with Bradford and Ripon Cathedrals, in the Diocese of Leeds and a seat of the Bishop of Leeds. Originally the pa ...

after an exceptionally long incumbency, which had lasted more than forty years.

Life

Son of Leonard Bielby, of Old Woodstock,

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...

, and Helen Joyce, daughter of Rev. Percy John Grubb, a

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...

minister at Knutsford and Haworth in Yorkshire, from an Irish gentry family, Bielby was educated at

Magdalen College School, Oxford Magdalen College School (MCS) is a public school (English independent day school) in Oxford, England, for boys aged seven to eighteen and for girls in the sixth form. It was founded by William Waynflete about 1480 as part of Magdalen College, ...

, where he studied under Bernard Rose, and at

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 ...

( BA 1966, MusB 1967, MA 1970), where between 1963 and 1967 his musical activities included a stint as 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 ...

, under the musical direction of

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 ...

. Having served as assistant organist at

Manchester Cathedral Manchester Cathedral, formally the Cathedral and Collegiate Church of St Mary, St Denys and St George, in Manchester, England, is the mother church Mother church or matrice is a term depicting the Christian Church as a mother ...

from 1966 to 1970, Bielby took up his post as organist and director of music at Wakefield in 1970. Bielby oversaw the rebuilding of the Willis organ in

Huddersfield Town Hall Huddersfield Town Hall is a municipal facility in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, United Kingdom. It is a Grade II listed building. History The building was commissioned to replace the offices of the Huddersfield Improvement Commissioners who had ...

and of the massive

Compton organ John Compton (1876–1957), born in Newton Burgoland, Leicestershire was a pipe organ builder. His business based in Nottingham and London flourished between 1902 and 1965. Life John Compton was educated at King Edward's School, Birmingham an ...

itself. He was also the first borough organist of

Kirklees Kirklees is a local government district of West Yorkshire, England, governed by Kirklees Council with the status of a metropolitan borough. The largest town and administrative centre of Kirklees is Huddersfield, and the district also includes ...

, West Yorkshire from 1974 to 1988, during which time he gave recitals at Huddersfield Town Hall and elsewhere. Bielby was a senior lecturer at the City of Leeds College of Music from 1979. Bielby has composed a significant body of church and organ music, including "Love's Endeavour, Love's Expense" and "Let the roring organs loudly play".

Awards and honours

In 2011 he was appointed

MBE Mbe may refer to: * Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo * Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria * Mbe language, a language of Nigeria * Mbe' language, language of Cameroon * ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language Molal ...

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bielby, Jonathan 1944 births Musicians from Oxford Cathedral organists People educated at Magdalen College School, Oxford Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge Members of the Order of the British Empire Living people 21st-century organists