John Manduell

Sir John Manduell CBE (2 March 1928 – 25 October 2017) was the founding principal of the Royal Northern College of Music from 1973 to 1996[1] and the director of the Cheltenham Music Festival.[2]

Early life and education

Manduell was born in Johannesburg, son of Matthewman Donald Manduell, of Cumbrian origin, a "leading headmaster" at Jeppe High School for Boys who had been a Major in the Royal Field Artillery during the First World War and was awarded the Military Cross and Croix de Guerre, and Theodora (née Tharp), a physiotherapist and "inveterate lacrosse enthusiast". The Manduells were long-established farmers at Wigton, Cumbria.[3]

He was educated at Haileybury, in Strasbourg, and at his father's alma mater, Jesus College, Cambridge,[4] before joining the Royal Academy of Music, where his teacher was Sir Lennox Berkeley.[5][6][7]

Career

From 1956 he worked at the BBC, staying until 1968.[5] He became Cheltenham Festival’s first Programme Director from 1969 until 1994. He was appointed Founding Principal of the Royal Northern College of Music in 1973, a post he held until his retirement in 1996.[8]

In these various roles he actively encouraged and promoted the work of young composers. Some 250 works were presented as a result of commissions by Manduell.[9] Works dedicated to or commissioned by him include Lennox Berkeley's Antiphon (dedicated to Manduell, and performed in Cheltenham on multiple occasions from 1973), the 1983 Elegy and Scherzo Alla Marcia for strings by Gordon Crosse and Another Dream Carousel for string orchestra by Anthony Glibert.[10]

Manduell received the CBE in 1982 and was knighted in 1989. A memoir, No Bartok Before Breakfast, was published in 2016.[11]

As a composer he wrote mostly chamber and orchestral works. Early works include the Belloc Variations for piano and orchestra, performed by soloist Renna Kellaway, his future wife. There is a Viola Concerto from 1964.[12] His String Quartet (1970), the solo clarinet work Prayers from the Ark (1978, first performed by Jack Brymer) and the Double Concerto (for solo Di-zi & Erhu, strings and percussion) were commissioned by the Cardiff Festival. ‘'Vistas’', a large form orchestral work, was commissioned by the Halle Orchestra and Kent Nagano and premiered in 1997.[13] His string octet Rondo for Nine (2005) has been recorded by the Manchester Chamber Ensemble, conducted by Richard Howarth.[10]

References
  1. "Sir John Manduell CBE: 1928 - 2017 - Royal Northern College of Music". Retrieved 9 November 2017.
  2. "Sir John Manduell CBE 1928-2017 - Cheltenham Festivals". Cheltenham Festivals. Retrieved 9 November 2017.
  3. No Bartók Before Breakfast- A Musician's Memoir, John Manduell, Arc Publications, 2016, pp. 13, 14
  4. The Cambridge University Calendar, Cambridge University Press, 1896, p. 706
  5. "Sir John Manduell – obituary". Telegraph.co.uk. 26 October 2017. Retrieved 9 November 2017.
  6. https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/obituary-sir-john-manduell-2rkd08x7g
  7. https://livesofthefirstworldwar.iwm.org.uk/lifestory/2899017
  8. "OBITUARY: SIR John Manduell, a founding trustee and former chairman of Lake District Summer Music". The Westmorland Gazette. Retrieved 9 November 2017.
  9. "Sir John Manduell". Thetimes.co.uk. 6 November 2017. Retrieved 9 November 2017.
  10. 'Antiphon - A Tribute to John Manduell', Dutton Epoch CDLX7207 (2008)
  11. Arc Publications
  12. 'Sir John Manduell (1928-2017)', an obituary by Kenneth Shenton
  13. Biography and catalogue, Wise Music
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