Stanley Vann

William Stanley Vann DMus(Cantuar), BMus(Lond), Hon. FTCL, FRCO, ARCM. (born February 15, 1910) is an English composer, organist, choral conductor, and choir trainer, primarily in the Anglican cathedral tradition.

Early life

Born in Leicester, he started to learn the piano around the age of six. He turned to the organ in 1927, achieving his ARCM, ARCO and FRCO diplomas by 1930.

The start of a musical career

1931 saw his appointment as Assistant Organist at Leicester Cathedral. This was followed by becoming Organist at Gainsborough Parish Church in 1933, then a move to Leamington Spa as Organist of Holy Trinity church in 1939. Whilst in Leamington he founded the Leamington Spa Bach Choir and (in 1940) the Warwickshire Symphony Orchestra.

His time at Leamington was interrupted between 1942 and 1946 by service in the Royal Artillery during the Second World War. After his initial service, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant on 17 December 1943, [LondonGazette|issue=36332|supp=yes|startpage=345|endpage=346|date=14 January 1944|accessdate=2008-10-08] later rising to the rank of captain. [cite web|title=(William) Stanley Vann|url=http://www.credoreferencecom/entry/6118143|publisher=CredoReference|work=Who's Who 2007|year=2007|accessdate=2007-06-26]

In 1949 he was appointed as Organist of Chelmsford Cathedral and Professor of Harmony and Counterpoint at Trinity College, London. Once in Chelmsford, he started the Essex Symphony Orchestra.

He also acted as Chorus Master for the Leicester Philharmonic for both Sir Henry Wood and Sir Malcolm Sargent.

Peterborough

1953 saw a further move, this time to Peterborough, to take up the appointment of Organist and Master of Music at Peterborough Cathedral. He held this post until his retirement in 1977. Much of his discography comes from this period, and bears witness to the extremely high standard to which he raised the choir. In 1971 he was awarded a Lambeth doctorate by the then Archbishop of Canterbury in recognition of his "eminent services to church music".

Following his retirement, he moved the short distance to Wansford where he ran the parish choir at St Mary's church and continued offering singing lessons to several local singers. He also continued the composition which had always run in parallel with the various posts he held. He has composed over 200 items of vocal or choral music, the majority of which could be classified as Anglican church music. There is also a large body of organ music. Larger scale works are chiefly represented by the Billingshurst Mass, for large chorus and orchestra. This is a concert setting of the mass, and also interpolates the Ave Maria into the usual text. Premiered in Chichester Cathedral in 2000, following a commission from the Billingshurst Choral Society (a committee member being a former Peterborough chorister), it was later performed in Peterborough Cathedral. 2000 also marked his 90th birthday, which saw a celebratory concert at All Saints Church, Peterborough, performed by the Peterborough Chamber Choir which received favourable reviews in the "Church Times".

2002 saw him finally leave the Peterborough area, moving to Richmond, Yorkshire to be closer to family members.

Current activity

In 2005 a collection of his major Organ works was published, and a scholarship and trust in his name was founded by Major and Mrs Vernon Yon, an American who heard the Peterborough Cathedral Choir whilst posted to the UK. The object of the Trust is to enhance Anglican choral music by the grant of an annual Scholarship (The Stanley Vann Scholarship) for young choir trainers and directors in the Anglican tradition.

Sunday September 24 2006 saw the broadcast of the BBC Radio 3 programme "The Choir" celebrating the forthcoming 80th anniversary of the weekly broadcast of Choral Evensong on BBC Radio. Amongst the items selected from across the 80 year period was a recording of Peterborough Cathedral Choir, under Dr Vann, from November 23 1962, singing the plainsong hymn "O blest creator". This was followed by a series of broadcasts of complete archive editions of Choral Evensong. Peterborough Cathedral Choir was featured on Wednesday December 13 2006 by the broadcast of a service originally heard on October 11 1972.

References

* [http://www.stanleyvannmusic.org.uk/ Catalogue of works and discography, as well as biographical information]
* [http://www.mvdaily.com/articles/2000/02/vann.htm A tribute written by a former assistant for Stanley Vann's 90th birthday]
* [http://www.music4.me.uk/wso%2022-09-05/history.html Warwickshire Symphony Orchestra]
* [http://www.lammas.co.uk/brevis.htm Further biographical information included in a CD review]
* [http://www.iao.org.uk/charitable-activities/index.asp The Stanley Vann Scholarship]
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/thechoir/pip/8n2rc/ Programme details for "The Choir"] , September 24 2006