Robert Clarence Raybould was an English conductor, pianist and composer who conducted works ranging from musical comedy and operetta, Gilbert and Sullivan to the standard classical repertoire.
12 Facts About Clarence Raybould
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Clarence Raybould studied under Sir Granville Bantock and in 1912 became the first person to receive a BMus degree at Birmingham University.
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Clarence Raybould assisted Rutland Boughton at early Glastonbury festivals, working later with the Beecham Opera Company and the British National Opera Company.
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Clarence Raybould toured Britain as a pianist and accompanist and was musical advisor for the Columbia Graphophone Company between 1927 and 1931.
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Clarence Raybould was the Director of the Senior Orchestra at the Royal Academy of Music.
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Clarence Raybould joined the BBC in 1936 and was assistant conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra from 1939 to 1945.
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Clarence Raybould conducted the first British concert performance of Hindemith's opera Cardillac in 1936 as well as that of Mathis der Maler in 1939.
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In 1943 Clarence Raybould was sent a score of Britten's Matinees Musicales by Erwin Stein of Boosey and Hawkes in the hope that he would conduct it.
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On 9 May 1951, Clarence Raybould conducted the London Symphony Orchestra in their first concert in the recently opened Royal Festival Hall.
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Clarence Raybould became the first conductor of the National Youth Orchestra of Wales in 1945, and was its principal conductor until 1966.
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Clarence Raybould lived at Oakdale, East-the-Water, Bideford in Devon, where he died in 1972, aged 86.
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Clarence Raybould was survived by his second wife Evelyn.