Royston Nash
Encyclopedia
Royston Hulbert Nash is an English
-born conductor, best known as a music director of the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company
, who is now living in the U.S.
and grew up in Bournemouth
. At sixteen, he joined the Royal Marines
School of Music, where he remained for six years. He then spent a year at the Royal Academy of Music
, where he studied the trumpet under George Eskdale and was awarded the Certificate of Merit for Conducting in 1957. He also held the Bronze Medal of the Worshipful Company of Musicians
. His mentors included Rudolf Kempe
, Constantin Silvestri
and Sir Malcolm Sargent
.
He was then appointed Bandmaster with the Royal Marines, and for three years was Director of Music to the Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean, also conducting the Malta Choral Society. He was then Director of Music to the Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth
. Later, as Director of Music at the Royal Marines School of Music in Deal, Kent
, Captain Nash had the opportunity to conduct a section of the Royal Marines Band on stage at Sadler's Wells Theatre
during a performance of the first act of H.M.S. Pinafore
at the last night of the London Season of the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company in March 1970.
In September 1970, Nash joined the D'Oyly Carte company as assistant musical director to James Walker
, whom he succeeded as musical director in March 1971 when Walker returned to his previous work as a producer for Decca
. Nash remained with the company until April 1979. He was in charge of the centenary season at the Savoy Theatre
in 1975 where all the Gilbert and Sullivan
operas from Trial by Jury
to The Grand Duke
were presented in chronological order. Nash was joined by guest conductors Isidore Godfrey
(for H.M.S. Pinafore) and Sir Charles Mackerras
(The Pirates of Penzance
and The Mikado
) In 1977, during Queen Elizabeth II's Jubilee Year, the company gave a Royal Command Performance
at Windsor Castle
, conducted by Nash.
After leaving the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company, Nash moved to North America and became musical director of the Nashua Symphony Orchestra in Nashua, New Hampshire
for 21 years, ending with the 2006/7 season, and of the Cape Cod Symphony Orchestra
in Massachusetts
from 1980-2007. He was also the founder and, until 1995, music director and conductor of Symphony by the Sea, also in Massachusetts, and conductor at the Boston Conservatory of Music in 1985 and 1986.
(1974), Trial by Jury (1975), Utopia Limited (1976), The Grand Duke (1976), The Gondoliers
(1977), Cox and Box
, the world premiere professional recording of The Zoo
(1978), and The Yeomen of the Guard
(1979). The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
was engaged for all these recordings, and the opportunity was taken to record some of Sullivan’s non-Savoy music as fillers: the Macbeth Overture, two excerpts from the Henry VIII music, a cut version of the Marmion Overture, and the Ballet Suite No 1 from Victoria and Merrie England
.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
-born conductor, best known as a music director of the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company
D'Oyly Carte Opera Company
The D'Oyly Carte Opera Company was a professional light opera company that staged Gilbert and Sullivan's Savoy operas. The company performed nearly year-round in the UK and sometimes toured in Europe, North America and elsewhere, from the 1870s until it closed in 1982. It was revived in 1988 and...
, who is now living in the U.S.
Life and career
Nash was born in SouthamptonSouthampton
Southampton is the largest city in the county of Hampshire on the south coast of England, and is situated south-west of London and north-west of Portsmouth. Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest...
and grew up in Bournemouth
Bournemouth
Bournemouth is a large coastal resort town in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. According to the 2001 Census the town has a population of 163,444, making it the largest settlement in Dorset. It is also the largest settlement between Southampton and Plymouth...
. At sixteen, he joined the Royal Marines
Royal Marines
The Corps of Her Majesty's Royal Marines, commonly just referred to as the Royal Marines , are the marine corps and amphibious infantry of the United Kingdom and, along with the Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary, form the Naval Service...
School of Music, where he remained for six years. He then spent a year at the Royal Academy of Music
Royal Academy of Music
The Royal Academy of Music in London, England, is a conservatoire, Britain's oldest degree-granting music school and a constituent college of the University of London since 1999. The Academy was founded by Lord Burghersh in 1822 with the help and ideas of the French harpist and composer Nicolas...
, where he studied the trumpet under George Eskdale and was awarded the Certificate of Merit for Conducting in 1957. He also held the Bronze Medal of the Worshipful Company of Musicians
Worshipful Company of Musicians
The Worshipful Company of Musicians is one of the Livery Companies of the City of London. Its history dates back to at least 1350. Originally a specialist guild for musicians, its role became an anachronism in the 18th century, when the centre of music making in London moved from the City to the...
. His mentors included Rudolf Kempe
Rudolf Kempe
Rudolf Kempe was a German conductor.- Biography :Kempe was born in Dresden, where from the age of fourteen he studied at the Dresden State Opera School. He played oboe in the opera orchestra of Dortmund and then in the Leipzig Gewandhaus orchestra, from 1929...
, Constantin Silvestri
Constantin Silvestri
-Early life:Silvestri, born of Austro-Italian-Romanian stock, was brought up on his own by his mother, his father dying from alcoholism and his stepfather dying when the boy was 16. He had learnt how to play the piano and organ before the age of 6. He played the piano in public at 10 and was a...
and Sir Malcolm Sargent
Malcolm Sargent
Sir Harold Malcolm Watts Sargent was an English conductor, organist and composer widely regarded as Britain's leading conductor of choral works...
.
He was then appointed Bandmaster with the Royal Marines, and for three years was Director of Music to the Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean, also conducting the Malta Choral Society. He was then Director of Music to the Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth
Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth
The Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth was a senior commander of the Royal Navy for hundreds of years. Portsmouth Command was a name given to the units, establishments, and staff operating under the post.-History:...
. Later, as Director of Music at the Royal Marines School of Music in Deal, Kent
Deal, Kent
Deal is a town in Kent England. It lies on the English Channel eight miles north-east of Dover and eight miles south of Ramsgate. It is a former fishing, mining and garrison town...
, Captain Nash had the opportunity to conduct a section of the Royal Marines Band on stage at Sadler's Wells Theatre
Sadler's Wells Theatre
Sadler's Wells Theatre is a performing arts venue located in Rosebery Avenue, Clerkenwell in the London Borough of Islington. The present day theatre is the sixth on the site since 1683. It consists of two performance spaces: a 1,500 seat main auditorium and the Lilian Baylis Studio, with extensive...
during a performance of the first act of H.M.S. Pinafore
H.M.S. Pinafore
H.M.S. Pinafore; or, The Lass That Loved a Sailor is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and a libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It opened at the Opera Comique in London, England, on 25 May 1878 and ran for 571 performances, which was the second-longest run of any musical...
at the last night of the London Season of the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company in March 1970.
In September 1970, Nash joined the D'Oyly Carte company as assistant musical director to James Walker
James Walker (conductor)
James Walker was an Australian musician, known both as a conductor of ballet and opera and as a recording producer, supervising classical recording sessions....
, whom he succeeded as musical director in March 1971 when Walker returned to his previous work as a producer for Decca
Decca Records
Decca Records began as a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934; however, owing to World War II, the link with the British company was broken for several decades....
. Nash remained with the company until April 1979. He was in charge of the centenary season at the Savoy Theatre
Savoy Theatre
The Savoy Theatre is a West End theatre located in the Strand in the City of Westminster, London, England. The theatre opened on 10 October 1881 and was built by Richard D'Oyly Carte on the site of the old Savoy Palace as a showcase for the popular series of comic operas of Gilbert and Sullivan,...
in 1975 where all the Gilbert and Sullivan
Gilbert and Sullivan
Gilbert and Sullivan refers to the Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the librettist W. S. Gilbert and the composer Arthur Sullivan . The two men collaborated on fourteen comic operas between 1871 and 1896, of which H.M.S...
operas from Trial by Jury
Trial by Jury
Trial by Jury is a comic opera in one act, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It was first produced on 25 March 1875, at London's Royalty Theatre, where it initially ran for 131 performances and was considered a hit, receiving critical praise and outrunning its...
to The Grand Duke
The Grand Duke
The Grand Duke; or, The Statutory Duel, is the final Savoy Opera written by librettist W. S. Gilbert and composer Arthur Sullivan, their fourteenth and last opera together. It premiered at the Savoy Theatre on March 7, 1896, and ran for 123 performances...
were presented in chronological order. Nash was joined by guest conductors Isidore Godfrey
Isidore Godfrey
Isidore Godfrey was musical director of the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company for 39 years, from 1929 to 1968...
(for H.M.S. Pinafore) and Sir Charles Mackerras
Charles Mackerras
Sir Alan Charles Maclaurin Mackerras, AC, CH, CBE was an Australian conductor. He was an authority on the operas of Janáček and Mozart, and the comic operas of Gilbert and Sullivan...
(The Pirates of Penzance
The Pirates of Penzance
The Pirates of Penzance; or, The Slave of Duty is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. The opera's official premiere was at the Fifth Avenue Theatre in New York City on 31 December 1879, where the show was well received by both audiences...
and The Mikado
The Mikado
The Mikado; or, The Town of Titipu is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert, their ninth of fourteen operatic collaborations...
) In 1977, during Queen Elizabeth II's Jubilee Year, the company gave a Royal Command Performance
Royal Command Performance
For the annual Royal Variety Performance performed in Britain for the benefit of the Entertainment Artistes' Benevolent Fund, see Royal Variety Performance...
at Windsor Castle
Windsor Castle
Windsor Castle is a medieval castle and royal residence in Windsor in the English county of Berkshire, notable for its long association with the British royal family and its architecture. The original castle was built after the Norman invasion by William the Conqueror. Since the time of Henry I it...
, conducted by Nash.
After leaving the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company, Nash moved to North America and became musical director of the Nashua Symphony Orchestra in Nashua, New Hampshire
Nashua, New Hampshire
-Climate:-Demographics:As of the census of 2010, there were 86,494 people, 35,044 households, and 21,876 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,719.9 people per square mile . There were 37,168 housing units at an average density of 1,202.8 per square mile...
for 21 years, ending with the 2006/7 season, and of the Cape Cod Symphony Orchestra
Cape Cod Symphony Orchestra
The Cape Cod Symphony Orchestra is an American orchestra, based at the Barnstable High School Performing Arts Center in Hyannis, Massachusetts, USA.-History:...
in Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
from 1980-2007. He was also the founder and, until 1995, music director and conductor of Symphony by the Sea, also in Massachusetts, and conductor at the Boston Conservatory of Music in 1985 and 1986.
Recordings
During his tenure with the D'Oyly Carte organisation, Nash conducted a filmed performance of H.M.S. Pinafore in 1973, an American tour in 1976, and Decca recordings of The Mikado (1973), IolantheIolanthe
Iolanthe; or, The Peer and the Peri is a comic opera with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It is one of the Savoy operas and is the seventh collaboration of the fourteen between Gilbert and Sullivan....
(1974), Trial by Jury (1975), Utopia Limited (1976), The Grand Duke (1976), The Gondoliers
The Gondoliers
The Gondoliers; or, The King of Barataria is a Savoy Opera, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It premiered at the Savoy Theatre on 7 December 1889 and ran for a very successful 554 performances , closing on 30 June 1891...
(1977), Cox and Box
Cox and Box
Cox and Box; or, The Long-Lost Brothers, is a one-act comic opera with a libretto by F. C. Burnand and music by Arthur Sullivan, based on the 1847 farce Box and Cox by John Maddison Morton. It was Sullivan's first successful comic opera. The story concerns a landlord who lets a room to two...
, the world premiere professional recording of The Zoo
The Zoo
The Zoo is a one-act comic opera, with music by Arthur Sullivan and a libretto by B. C. Stephenson, writing under the pen name of Bolton Rowe. It premiered on 5 June 1875 at the St. James's Theatre in London , concluding its run five weeks later, on 9 July 1875, at the Haymarket Theatre...
(1978), and The Yeomen of the Guard
The Yeomen of the Guard
The Yeomen of the Guard; or, The Merryman and His Maid, is a Savoy Opera, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It premiered at the Savoy Theatre on 3 October 1888, and ran for 423 performances...
(1979). The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra is a British orchestra based in London. It tours widely, and is sometimes referred to as "Britain's national orchestra"...
was engaged for all these recordings, and the opportunity was taken to record some of Sullivan’s non-Savoy music as fillers: the Macbeth Overture, two excerpts from the Henry VIII music, a cut version of the Marmion Overture, and the Ballet Suite No 1 from Victoria and Merrie England
Victoria and Merrie England
Victoria and Merrie England is an 1897 ballet by Arthur Sullivan, written to commemorate Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee – a remarkable sixty years on the throne. The ballet became very popular and ran for nearly six months.-Background:...
.