Peter Lyons (musician)

Peter Stanley Lyons

Peter Lyons in the colours of the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC)
Born 6 December 1927
Died 28 November 2006
Nationality British
Education Alleyn's School, Rossall School
Alma mater St John's College, Cambridge (MA)
Spouse(s) Bridget Webb-Jones, daughter of James William Webb-Jones (m.1957)

Peter Stanley Lyons (6 December 1927 - 28 November 2006) was an English chorister and choral conductor.

Early life

Lyons was educated at Alleyn's School, Rossall School, and St John’s College, Cambridge, where he read Modern Languages and was a distinguished member of the Choir of St John's College, Cambridge under Robin Orr.[1][2] He also played the piano and the violin.[2]

After Cambridge, he joined the Royal Corps of Signals and boxed for the British Army.[1][2]

At Alleyn’s School he formed what would become a lifetime friendship and collaborative partnership with John Lanchbery, who would become Principal Conductor of the Royal Ballet from 1959 to 1972, and became friends with Kenneth Spring, co-founder of the National Youth Theatre of Great Britain[2][3]

He was able to sing counter-tenor until his twenties and was described as a ‘forerunner of Callas' whilst at Rossall.[4] He was broadcast on the BBC on 8 February 1944.[3]

Witham Hall
Peter Lyons (left) and John Lanchbery (right)

Musical career

Lyons was:[1]

  1. Chorister of the Choir of St John's College, Cambridge 1948-1950.
  2. Director of Music, Royal Naval College, Greenwich, 1950–54
  3. Director of Music, Vanbrugh Castle School, 1950-54[5]
  4. Director of Music and Deputy Headmaster, Wells Cathedral School, and Master of the Choristers, Wells Cathedral, 1954-1960
  5. Headmaster, Witham Hall School, 1961-1989.

Witham Hall

Lyons was appointed Headmaster of Witham Hall School in 1961, two years after the foundation of the school. Witham Hall flourished under Lyons's 29 year leadership, the number of pupils increasing from 20 at the time at which he started to 150 by the time he retired, by which time the school had become a feeder school for Eton College.[2] There is a school house at Witham Hall, Lyons, named after him and his wife.[6]

Coincidentally, composer Sir Henry Walford Davies, wrote God Be in My Head, one of his most famous pieces, and several of his other works, at Witham Hall, when it was the private residence of Colonel Maitland.

Marriage

Lyons married Bridget Webb-Jones (b. 5 September 1937), daughter of James William Webb-Jones, Headmaster of St George's School, Windsor Castle, and Barbara Moody, daughter of Colonel Richard Stanley Hawks Moody CB, at Wells Cathedral on 31 July 1957,[1][7] The couple had 1 son. Bridget Lyons's godmother was Lady Walford Davies, wife of composer Sir Henry Walford Davies KCVO OBE, who was Master of the King's Music from 1934 until 1941, and later wife of Julian Harold Legge Lambart, Vice-Provost of Eton College.

Later life

During his retirement, Peter became a leading member of the Young Musicians Support Group, part of the Dartington Hall Trust.[2]

He was a member of the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and the Jesters Cricket Club.[2]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Register of Twentieth Century Johnians, Volume I, 1900-1949. St John's College, Cambridge.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Obituary, Rutland and Stamford Mercury, Friday, April 20, 2007.
  3. 1 2 Alleyn's in the 1940s, Susannah Schofield, Archives of Alleyn's School, Dulwich.
  4. ↑ Archives of Alleyn's School, 'Rossall Reminiscences', Jim French.
  5. ↑ Electoral Registers for Vanbrugh Castle. http://vcs.atwebpages.com/VCS%20Residential%20Staff.pdf
  6. ↑ "Houses, Witham Hall".
  7. ↑ "WEBB-JONES, James William (1904 - 1965)". Who's Who, Oxford Index. Oxford University Press.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 12/3/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.