Martin Neary

MARTIN NEARY was born in London in 1940 and educated at the City of London School and at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, where he was Organ Scholar. His life in church music began in 1947 as a chorister at Holy Trinity, Brompton, and over te succeeding 75

years he pursued an eventful career at home and abroad as an organist and conductor.

At both Winchester Cathedral and Westminster Abbey, he commissioned and promoted much music by contemporary composers including Sir John Tavener, whose Song for Athene he conducted at the funeral of Princess Diana – an extraordinary service, described here in fresh detail.

Alongside modern music has been his longstanding interest in period instrument performance, with the concerts at the Abbey marking the tercentenary of the death of Purcell being one of his most notable achievements. Throughout these years, Martin has been a passionate follower of cricket and “a true lover of the game,” as will emerge from time to time in the pages of this fascinating book.