Colin Mawby

English organist, choral conductor and composer Colin Mawby was born on 9 May 1936 and studied at Westminster Cathedral choir school, playing the organ from the age of twelve as George Malcolm's assistant, and then studying at the Royal College of Music with Gordon Jacob and John Churchill.

His first job was as assistant and then master of music at Westminster Cathedral, collaborating with the BBC Singers, the Belgian Radio Choir, the London Mozart Players, Pro Cantione Antiqua and the Wren Orchestra, and performing for Pope John Paul II, US President John F Kennedy and the Queen of England.

He moved to Dublin in 1976, was appointed choral director of Radio Telefís Éireann in 1981, and was artistic director of Chamber Choir Ireland. He was awarded the Knighthood of the Order of St Gregory in 2006 by Pope Benedict XVI for services to church music.

Mawby wrote a considerable amount of music for the English Catholic liturgy - antiphons, hymn settings, Masses and motets. His Ave verum corpus, Requiem of Hope and Prayer of Forgiveness, Te Deum and Laudate Pueri Dominum are significant in his output. He also wrote secular works - including youth operas The Torc of Gold and The Quest.

Colin Mawby died on 24 November 2019, aged eighty-three.

A selection of articles about Colin Mawby

CD Spotlight. Exhilarating from Start to Finish - Gerald Fenech listens to suites of incidental music by Arthur Sullivan. 'Andrew Penny is an enthusiastic advocate of this composer, and his lively and beautifully shaped interpretations are a treat to the ear.'

CD Spotlight. Welcome back Lord Berners - Gerald Fenech listens to two stage works by an enigmatic English composer. 'Soloists and chorus deliver some flawless singing, and their great attention to the text creates a sense of reverential homage to the sacred.'

CD Spotlight. Beautifully Managed - Music for Lent and Easter impresses Howard Smith. '... excellent musical standards and high technical achievements ...'