Harry Crane Perrin
Harry Crane Perrin (19 August 1865 – 6 November 1953)[1] was a cathedral organist at Canterbury Cathedral, England,[2] and an academic who served as the first dean of music at McGill University, Canada.
Background[edit]
Perrin was born in Wellingborough, Northamptonshire.[1][3][4][5] He attended Wellingborough Grammar School,[3][4][5][6] and studied music under Sir Robert Prescott Stewart at Trinity College, Dublin,[1][3][4][6] graduating with a Bachelor of Music in 1890,[4] as a Fellow of the Royal College of Organists in 1892,[4] and as a Doctor of Music in 1901.[4][5][6]
He composed the cantatas "Abode of Worship" and "Pan's Pipes" (both published by Breitkopf),[1] Song of War (published by Weekes),[1] morning and evening services, anthems, hymn tunes and songs (some of which were published by Novello & Co).[1][4][6][7]
He was organist at St Columba's College, Dublin,[1][6] at Lowestoft,[1][6] and, following a competition on the organ at Westminster Abbey,[3][5] at Coventry Cathedral.[1][6] He was organist and choirmaster at Canterbury Cathedral for ten years.[1][6][8] In 1908, he moved to Canada to take up an appointment as professor of music at McGill University in Montreal and director of the Conservatorium[1][6][8][9][10] and was presented to King Edward VII prior to his departure.[9] Perrin restructured the curriculum at the Conservatorium so that instead of simply learning an instrument or singing, students also studied the history and theory of music.[11] In 1920, a Faculty of Music was established at the university,[10] and Perrin was its first dean until his retirement in 1930.[4][5] He also established an orchestra[1][8] and a choir there,[1] and developed a Canada-wide system of musical examinations.[1][8]
He married Enid Hilda Pridmore in Coventry in 1896; they had one son and one daughter.Perrin died at his home in Exeter, Devon, in 1953.[5]
Career[edit]
Organist of:
- St. Columba's College, Rathfarnham 1886 - 1888[3][4]
- St. John's Church, Lowestoft 1888 - 1892[3][4]
- St. Michael's Church, Coventry 1893 - 1898[1][3][4][5][12]
- Canterbury Cathedral 1898 - 1908[1][4][5]
References[edit]
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Mclean, Eric (16 December 2013). "Harry Crane Perrin". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Historica Canada. Retrieved 26 September 2019.
- ^ Watkins Shaw, The Succession of Organists
- ^ a b c d e f g "Master Musicians". The Musical Journal. 20 (234): 87–88. June 1907. Retrieved 26 September 2019.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Venn, John (1953). Alumni Cantabrigienses: A Biographical List of All Known Students, Graduates and Holders of Office at the University of Cambridge, from the Earliest Times to 1900, Volume 2 (2011 ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 96. ISBN 9781108036153. Retrieved 26 September 2019.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "McGill's First Dean of Music Dies in England". The Gazette. Montreal, Quebec, Canada. 17 November 1953. p. 29. Retrieved 26 September 2019.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "Portraits and World's News". The Illustrated London News. London, England: 6. 19 October 1907. Retrieved 26 September 2019.
- ^ Memorials of the Cathedral & Priory of Christ in Canterbury, by Woodru C. Eveleigh (Charles Eveleigh)
- ^ a b c d Keillor, Elaine (2008). Music in Canada: Capturing Landscape and Diversity. McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP. p. 126. ISBN 9780773533912. Retrieved 26 September 2019.
- ^ a b "Canterbury". Canterbury Journal and Farmers' Gazette. Canterbury, England. 29 February 1908. p. 2. Retrieved 26 September 2019.
- ^ a b Elliott, Robin; Smith, Gordon Ernest (2001). Istvan Anhalt: Pathways and Memory. McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP. p. 36. ISBN 9780773521025. Retrieved 26 September 2019.
- ^ "Changes In Music. McGill Conservatorium Adopts Curriculum More In Accord University Idea". The Gazette. Montreal, Quebec, Canada. 26 March 1909. p. 14. Retrieved 26 September 2019.
- ^ "St Michael's Musicians". Coventry Evening Telegraph. Coventry, England. 1 February 1932. p. 3. Retrieved 26 September 2019.