William Cole (Musician)

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William C. Cole (9 October 1909 - 9 May 1997) was a conductor, composer and organist. He studied at the Royal Academy of Music in London, where he won the Stewart MacPherson Prize in 1933^[1]. In 1945 he became Professor of Harmony and Composition at the RAM, in which post he remained until 1962. He succeeded Ralph Vaughan Williams as conductor of the Leith Hill Music Festival in 1954^[2].

Outside music Cole's main interest was stained glass, and largely as a result of his expertise in this field he was elected a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries in 1979. In 1993 he published a book entitled A Catalogue of Netherlandish and North European Roundels in Britain^[3].