Willcocks, Sir David (Valentine)
Willcocks, Sir David (Valentine)
Willcocks, Sir David (Valentine), English organist, conductor, and music educator; b. Newquay, Dec. 30, 1919. He was educated at Clifton Coll., the Royal Coll. of Music, and King’s Coll., Cambridge. During World War II, he served in the British army. He was organist at Salisbury Cathedral (1947-50) and Worcester Cathedral (1950-57), then at King’s Coll., Cambridge (1957-73); he also held the posts of univ. lecturer (1957-74) and univ. organist (1958-74) at Cambridge. Concurrently, he led the City of Birmingham Choir (1950-57) and was conductor of the Cambridge Univ. Musical Soc. (1958-73). In 1960 he became music director of the Bach Choir; in 1974 he also assumed the post of director of the Royal Coll. of Music in London, remaining there until 1984. He was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1971 and was knighted in 1977. He served as general ed. of the Church Music series of the Oxford Univ. Press.
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire