Henderson, Roy (Galbraith)
Henderson, Roy (Galbraith)
Henderson, Roy (Galbraith), Scottish baritone, conductor, and pedagogue; b. Edinburgh, July 4, 1899; d. London, March 16, 2000. He studied at the Royal Academy of Music in London (1920–25). He made his London debut as Zarathustra in A Mass of Life by Delius in 1925; his operatic debut followed in 1928 as Donner in Wagner’s Das Rheingold at Covent Garden; he also sang at the Glyndebourne Festivals (1934–39). He was founder and conductor of the Nottingham Oriana Choir (1936–52); was a prof, of singing at the Royal Academy of Music (1940–74). He was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1970.
Henderson was especially esteemed as a concert singer, becoming well known for his championship of music by English composers. As a teacher, he numbered Kathleen Ferrier among his gifted students.
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire