From Jill Craig
Tom Duncan was a hugely respected figure in St Andrews both musically and academically.
He was known to many and held dear by many more in the town. We invite you to attend a Celebration Concert in Memory of Tom Duncan, which will be held on Sunday November 3rd at 7.30pm in Holy Trinity Church, St Andrews.
Family, friends and colleagues will be returning to St Andrews to celebrate the musical legacy of Thomas Gibson Duncan who died last year. Described as “one of a kind” and “standing out from the crowd”, TGD, as he was often known, was educated at Ardrossan Academy, Glasgow University (where he was a choral scholar), and then at Oxford.
In 1962 he came to St Andrews as lecturer in Medieval English at the University, where he became famed for his lectures on Old English, Middle English, Boethius and Chaucer. His editions of Medieval Lyrics are now standard textbooks. He became Honorary Professor and continued teaching long after his formal retirement. But it was music that was his life-long driving force and greatest passion. Shortly after arriving in St Andrews, he became organist and choir master at Holy Trinity, a post he held for over 50 years. He rebuilt and enhanced the organ, inviting world class organists, including Gillian Weir, to play. He founded Holy Trinity Augmented Choir, regularly performing major works of the choral repertoire and including his renowned annual Messiah.
In 1978, his St Andrews Chorus was formed, collaborating with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra in a notable performance of Bach’s B minor Mass; this fruitful collaboration was to last for over a decade. Tom’s choral performances always put the text foremost, and his gift was to be able to match the sensitivity of the text with the music. In later years, Tom founded the Friends of Holy Trinity to support scholarships for young singers and to bolster and enhance the quality of the church choir.
The programme for the concert on November 3rd will include music by Bach sung by Brian Bannatyne-Scott and Ben McAteer, soloists in many of Tom’s performances over the years, and Bach’s fourth Brandenberg Concerto with soloists Julie Duncan, Kate Chisholm and Ben Shute. Also to be performed is Haydn’s ‘Nelson’ Mass sung by The Celebration Chorus and soloists, accompanied by The Heisenberg Ensemble.
All are welcome and admission is free.
Comments