Royston Nash

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Royston Hulbert Nash (born July 23, 1933) is an English-born conductor, best known as a music director of the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company, who is now living in the U.S.

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[edit] Life and career

Nash was born in Southampton and grew up in Bournemouth. At sixteen, he joined the Royal Marines School of Music, where he remained for six years. He then spent a year at the Royal Academy of Music, where he studied the trumpet under George Eskdale and was awarded the Certificate of Merit for Conducting in 1957.[1]. He also held the Bronze Medal of the Worshipful Company of Musicians. His mentors included Rudolf Kempe, Constantin Silvestri and Sir Malcolm Sargent.[2]

He was then appointed Bandmaster with the Royal Marines, and for three years was Director of Music to the Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean, also conducting the Malta Choral Society. He was then Director of Music to the Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth.[3] Later, as Director of Music at the Royal Marines School of Music in Deal, Kent, Captain Nash had the opportunity to conduct a section of the Royal Marines Band on stage at Sadler's Wells Theatre during a performance of the first act of H.M.S. Pinafore at the last night of the London Season of the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company in March 1970. [1]

In September 1970, Nash joined the D'Oyly Carte organisation as assistant musical director to James Walker, whom he succeeded as musical director in March 1971 when Walker returned to his previous work as a producer for Decca.[4] Nash remained with the company until April 1979. He was in charge of the centenary season at the Savoy Theatre in 1975 where all the Gilbert and Sullivan operas from Trial by Jury to The Grand Duke were presented in chronological order. Nash was joined by guest conductors Isidore Godfrey (for H.M.S. Pinafore) and Sir Charles Mackerras (The Pirates of Penzance and The Mikado)[5]

After leaving the D'Oyly Carte organisation, Nash moved to North America and became musical director of the Nashua Symphony Orchestra in New Hampshire for 21 years, ending with the 2006/7 season, and of the Cape Symphony Orchestra in Massachusetts since 1980. He was also the founder and, until 1995, music director and conductor of Symphony by the Sea, also in Massachusetts, and conductor at the Boston Conservatory of Music in 1985 and 1986.

[edit] Recordings

During his tenure with the D'Oyly Carte organisation, Nash conducted a filmed performance of H.M.S. Pinafore in 1973, an American tour in 1976, and Decca recordings of The Mikado (1973), Iolanthe (1974), Trial by Jury (1975), Utopia Limited (1976), The Grand Duke (1976), The Gondoliers (1977), Cox and Box, the world premiere professional recording of The Zoo (1978), and The Yeomen of the Guard (1979). The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra was engaged for all these recordings, and the opportunity was taken to record some of Sullivan’s non-Savoy music as fillers: the Macbeth Overture, two excerpts from the Henry VIII music, a cut version of the Marmion Overture, and the Ballet Suite No 1 from Victoria and Merrie England.

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ a b The Savoyard
  2. ^ Cape Symphony
  3. ^ Ayre, p. 248
  4. ^ Who was Who
  5. ^ Savoy Theatre programme booklets, March and April 1975.

[edit] References