Sitting on a Pin: A Musical Memoir

Dr. BARRY ROSE, OBE Born in 1934, Barry Rose originally set out on a career in insurance, but at the age of 24 he suddenly quit the world of commerce, and became a mature student at the Royal Academy of Music. Whilst there, and still without any musical qualifications, he was appointed as the first Organist and Master of the Choristers of the new Guildford Cathedral, founding and directing a choir which made several award-winning recordings for EMI (including Platinum, Gold and Silver discs). In 1974 he was invited to move to St. Paul’s Cathedral, where he took over the training the world-famous choir, directing them at many great State Occasions, including The Queen’s Silver Jubilee and the 1981 wedding of The Prince of Wales. His recordings with the Cathedral choir range from Mozart and Handel with Dame Kiri te Kanawa to a gold-disc recording of the pop-song My Way and the original soundtrack of The Snowman. From St. Paul’s Barry moved on to run the choral music at The King’s School, Canterbury, but was lured back into Cathedral music at St. Albans Abbey and Cathedral in 1988 – where he stayed until Christmas 1997. With the St. Albans choir he toured the USA no less than five times, as well as making recordings and broadcasts. Barry was also the BBC’s Music Adviser to the Head of Religious Broadcasting – a post he was to hold from 1971-1990, broadcasting regularly as conductor, organist, pianist, and even writing and presenting a series of church music programmes on BBC2. With his brother-in-law he also founded and produced recordings for GUILD RECORDS, as well as acting as recording producer for other choirs on different record labels. A regular visitor to the USA since 1974, he has been visiting director of several high-profile choirs on the East Coast, as well as in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and many European countries. Married, with three grown-up children, he and his wife Elizabeth (to whom the book is dedicated) now live in rural Somerset, where he still makes music and enjoys his hobby of collecting and restoring vintage fountain pens.