Philip Ledger
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Philip Stevens Ledger | |
|---|---|
| Born | 12 December 1937 |
| Died | 18 November 2012 (aged 74) |
Sir Philip Stevens Ledger, CBE, FRSE (12 December 1937 – 18 November 2012) was an English classical musician, choirmaster and academic, best remembered as Director of the Choir of King's College, Cambridge from 1974 to 1982 and of the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama from 1982 until he retired in 2001.[1] He also composed choral music and played the organ, piano and harpsichord.
Ledger was born in Bexhill-on-Sea in 1937 and educated at King's College, Cambridge.[2] His appointment as Master of Music at Chelmsford Cathedral in 1961 made him the youngest cathedral organist in the country.[2] In 1965 he became Director of Music at the University of East Anglia, where he was also Dean of the School of Fine Arts and Music and responsible for establishing an award-winning building for the University's Music Centre, opened in 1973.[2]
In 1968, Ledger became an artistic director of the Aldeburgh Festival with Benjamin Britten and Peter Pears, often conducting at the Snape Maltings, including the opening concert after its rebuilding and some first performances of works by Britten.[2] He worked regularly with the English Chamber Orchestra during this period.[3] He was Director of Music at King's College, Cambridge from 1974 to 1982, and conductor of the Cambridge University Musical Society from 1973 to 1982. During his Cambridge years, he directed the Choir of King's College in the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols, made an extensive range of recordings, and took the choir to the United States, to Australia, and to Japan for the first time. Ledger then became principal of the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama from 1982 to 2001.
Ledger married the soprano Mary Erryl Wells in 1963, with Robert Tear as best man at the wedding.[4] The couple had two children, Tim and Kate. His widow, children and granddaughter Becky survived him.[5]
