Draper, Charles
Draper, Charles
Draper, Charles, English clarinetist and pedagogue; b. Odcombe, Somerset, Oct. 23,1869; d. Surbiton, Oct. 21, 1952. He studied with his brother and with Henry Lazarus, and then was a scholarship student at the Royal Coll. of Music in London. He was active in London, where he joined the Crystal Palace Orch. in 1895; he also played in the orch. of the Phil. Soc. and in 1905 became a founding member of the New Sym. Orch.; from 1895 to 1940 he taught at the Guildhall School of Music. Through his appearances as a soloist and chamber music player, he played a decisive role in establishing the clarinet as a worthy solo instrument. His nephew, Haydn (Paul) Draper (b. Penarth, Glamorganshire, Wales, Jan. 21,1889; d. London, Nov. 1,1934), was also a clarinetist and pedagogue. After training with his father, he entered the Royal Coll. of Music in London on a scholarship in 1908 and studied with his uncle and with Julian Egerton. He played principal clarinet in the Queen’s Hall Orch. in London, and later was a member of the London Wind Quintet; from 1923 he was a teacher at the Royal Academy of Music in London, where he was mentor to Reginald Kell.
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire