Kenneth Beard

Kenneth Bernard Beard FRCO(CHM) (9 June 1927, in Royton, Lancashire – 9 July 2010[1]) was an English Cathedral Organist.

Education

He attended Kingswood School, Bath,[2] and studied at the University of Manchester and the Royal Manchester College of Music from 1946 to 1949.[3]

After Manchester, he was organ scholar at Emmanuel College, Cambridge.

He was also made a Fellow of the Royal College of Organists in 1949, and gained a Choirmaster diploma in 1954.

Career

He was:

During his time in Tenbury, he commissioned the anthem “Antiphon” from Benjamin Britten and conducted the first performance on 29 September 1956 in the presence of the composer.[5]

At Southwell he was not only the organist of the Minster, but also head of Music of Southwell Minster School.

He was awarded the Cross of St Augustine by Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury, in 2008 in recognition of his service to church music.[6]

Cultural offices
Preceded by
Maxwell Menzies
 Organist of St. Michael's College, Tenbury
1952–1959 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Rector Chori of Southwell Minster
1959–1988 		Succeeded by
Paul Hale

References

  1. ^ "Kenneth Bernard BEARD Obituary: View Kenneth BEARD's Obituary by the Times". Archived from the original on 8 July 2012. Retrieved 21 July 2010.
  2. ^ The succession of organists of the Chapel Royal and the cathedrals of England and Wales from c. 1538, Watkins Shaw, Clarendon Press, 1991
  3. ^ http://www.churchtimes.co.uk/content.asp?id=97636 [dead link‍]
  4. ^ St. Michael’s College Society Magazine, September 2008.
  5. ^ Letters from a Life: The Selected Letters of Benjamin Britten, 1913-1976. Philip Reed, Mervyn Cooke, Donald Mitchell, Boydell Press, 2008
  6. ^ "The Archbishop of Canterbury - Archbishop to award Cross of St Augustine". Archived from the original on 28 October 2010. Retrieved 23 July 2010.