John McCarthy (conductor)
Eugene Patrick John McCarthy OBE (20 November 1916 - 8 April 2009), also known professionally for most of his career as John Mac or simply Mac, was a three-times
Early life
Born in London to Irish parents, McCarthy was education at the Oratory school in Kensington and then on a scholarship at St. Edmund's school in Ware, Hertfordshire, after which he attended the Royal College of Music. His first recording was in 1927 whilst still a boy, where he performed as a soprano. He later worked at a bank, and in 1940 was married to Margaret Quigley with whom he had twin girls and a son.[3][2] After serving during the Second World War, he studied privately under Mátyás Seiber, a prominent composer and conductor, and also sang professionally as a tenor around the same time.[4]
McCarthy was involved in sports in his youth, particularly in water polo. He was a reserve member of the British water polo team for the 1948 Olympic games.[2]
Musical career
In 1951 McCarthy together with Denis Stevens founded a choral group known as the Ambrosian Singers to provide choral polyphony for the BBC series, The History of Music, which Stevens produced. By the 1960s the group had grown to include 700 singers from which smaller groups could be selected.[5] He also went on to found The John McCarthy Singers.
From 1961-66 McCarthy was the chorus master of the
Awards
He conducted the Ambrossian choir in performances that received three
References
- ^ a b "Artist: John McCarthy". Grammy.com. Retrieved 22 August 2019.
- ^ a b c d e f Millington, Barry (15 July 2009). "John McCarthy". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 August 2019.
- ^ a b Shenton, Kenneth (22 June 2009). "John McCarthy: Charismatic choral conductor and arranger". The Independent. Archived from the original on 13 June 2022. Retrieved 22 August 2019.
- ISBN 0333231112. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
- ^ John, McCarthy (1967). The Amor Artis Bulletin. 6 (9–10): 12–19.
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(help)[full citation needed] - ^ "Grammy Awards 1968". Awards and Shows. Retrieved 6 December 2022.
- ^ "Grammy Awards 1969". Awards and Shows. Retrieved 6 December 2022.
- ^ "Grammy Awards 1976". Awards and Shows. Retrieved 6 December 2022.