A 258th GARLAND OF BRITISH LIGHT MUSIC COMPOSERS
A mention first for Derek Neville for his Dream
Fantasy, orchestrated by Frederick Charrosin dating perhaps
from the 1940s. Also worth a mention is David New, best known
for the title music for the long-running BBC TV feature University
Challenge, recently given a facelift by being quickened up and re-scored
for string quartet. Music for film and TV comes in all sizes, shapes
and amounts.
Now for a few march composers: Stuart A. Watts,
sometime Conductor of the Band of the Honourable Artillery Company,
for March of St George; Trevor W. Brown for March of
the Lifeboat Men; Thomas Preston for the NATO Ceremonial
March (1959: also for a NATO Ceremonial Hymn); F. Stovin-Bradford,
composer of Flying Stations (1963), the Fleet Air Arm’s march;
and Jimmy Hughes, for The London Boys (1962: though his
vocal setting The Little Shepherd Boy earned him more fame).
Aubrey Kennett was perhaps better known as an
arranger of songs and selections from shows, including Eldorado
whose music was mostly by the Creole composer G. Ruthland Clapham,
put on in London in 1930, than as a composer. However he merits a mention
here for his orchestral suite Widows in Spain, whose three movements
bear the titles Festal Dance, Reverie and Pageant.
Finally, Terry A. Kenny’s music is well known
in brass and wind band circles and includes Trombone Rockanova
(1975), The Mexican Trot (1976) and solos for saxophone (Mireille)
and for piccolo (The Bosin’s Fancy).
Philip L Scowcroft
March 2002
Philip's book 'British Light Music Composers' (ISBN 0903413 88 4) is
currently out of print.
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