Philip Ledger

Philip Ledger showed early signs during adolescence of rising to prominence among England's organists, a trajectory he followed with speed while simultaneously broadening his musical engagements across multiple fronts. He secured a prize from the Royal College of Organists and completed further studies as an honors student at King's College, Cambridge.

In 1961 he received appointment as master of music at Chelmsford Cathedral, becoming the youngest person to hold such a post at any English cathedral, and he stayed in that position until 1965. He then moved to the newly established University of East Anglia, serving as its director of music through 1973 and, from 1968 to 1971, also as dean of the School of Fine Arts and Music.

Ledger joined the artistic leadership of the Aldeburgh Festival in 1968, after which he took part in Benjamin Britten's recordings of the composer's own choral music. At the same period he appeared regularly in London concerts and on discs, playing piano with the Melos Ensemble, serving as both soloist and continuo harpsichordist with chamber orchestras, and presenting organ recitals at Royal Festival Hall.

His greatest visibility came between 1974 and 1982 as music director of King's College, Cambridge, where he succeeded David Willcocks and produced a large body of choral recordings. Leaving King's, he became principal of the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow and was named an honorary professor at the University of Glasgow in 1993. In 1985 he received the additional distinction of Commander of the Order of the British Empire.

Ledger earned particular esteem for his performances of early English music, the area that also formed the focus of his editorial work; he prepared the Oxford Book of English Madrigals as well as editions of music by Byrd, Handel, and Purcell, most notably a performing version of the latter's King Arthur.