V. E. Galway

New Zealand Listener, Volume 31, Issue 796, 22 October 1954, Page 29

V. E. Galway

| A T the Royal Concert in Dunedin last January, the pre-concert organ re- | cital with which the audience was entertained before the Queen's arrival was given on the magnificent Dunedin Town Hall organ by Dr. V. E. Galway. It was * a logical choice and a fitting honour for 'a notable New Zealand musician. As | teacher, organist. composer and. conduc-

tor Dr. Galway has thoughout the years shown a great interest in the welfare of music in New Zealand. Like his contemporaries Vernon Griffiths and Ernest Jenner, he was born in England, but he © came to this country by way of Melbourne, Australia, where his family, had emigrated when he was a youngster. He was born at Colchester in 1894 and was five years a choirboy at St. Sepulchre, Northampton, before his emigration. At Melbourne University, where he graduated Doctor of Music, he studied the piano, organ, ‘cello and oboe, as well as the theoretical side of his subject. Dr. Galway’s life as a New Zealander began in 1919, when he was appointed organist and choirmaster to the First Church of Otago, Dunedin.,In 1920 he became conductor of the Dunedin Male Choir. and in 1922 he took on the conductorship . of the Dunedin Choral Society. Later he was appointed Blair Professor of Music at the University of Otago, a position which he still holds. As a composer he is best known for his organ works and his choral pieces, though in general his compositions are numerous and quite varied. In the twelfth pro- gramme in the broadcast series, Music by New Zealand Composers, Dr. Galway plays two of his own organ works, Prelude in D Minor and Fugue in D Major. The Wellington’ Baroque Chorus conducted by Stanley Oliver is heard in the same programme singing Dr. Galway’s Four Songs tor Chorus.