William Hayman Cummings
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William Hayman Cummings (August 22, 1831 – June 10, 1915), born in Sidbury (near Sidmouth) in Devon, was an English musician, tenor and organist at Waltham Abbey.
In 1847, as a teenager, he was one of the choristers when Felix Mendelssohn conducted his Elijah at Exeter Hall. He is credited in 1855 with linking Mendelssohn's tune to Charles Wesley's words Hark! The Herald Angels Sing, which are now universally inextricably linked. He was the last-minute tenor soloist at the premiere of The Masque at Kenilworth (1866) by Arthur Sullivan.
Cummings founded the Purcell Society in 1876. He served as singing professor at the Royal Academy of Music for 15 years beginning in 1879, then became principal of the Guildhall School of Music. He received an honorary Doctorate in Music from Dublin University in 1900.
Cummings married Clara Anne Hobbs, a daughter of his teacher, the well-known singer John William Hobbs (1799-1877). [1]
He died in London and is buried in West Norwood Cemetery, South London [1][2].
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