Kenneth Leighton

Kenneth Leighton (2 October 1929 – 24 August 1988) was a British composer and pianist. His compositions include church and choral music, pieces for piano, organ, cello, oboe and other instruments, chamber music, concertos, symphonies, and an opera. He held academic appointments in the Universities of Leeds, Oxford and Edinburgh. Biography Leighton was born in Wakefield, Yorkshire, on 2 October 1929, to parents of modest means, who noted his musical ability as a child and enrolled him as a chorister at Wakefield Cathedral. Encouraged by his mother and cathedral staff (who helped obtain a piano) he began to play the piano at primary school and progressed precociously. In 1940, he gained a place at the Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, played at school assemblies and concerts, and composed settings of poetry for voice and piano and solo piano pieces (including the Sonatina Op.1a, 1946, his first published work). While still at school (in 1946) he obtained the Licentiate of the Royal Academy of Music (LRAM) in piano performance, aged 16. With the benefit of a State scholarship to study classics at University, Leighton was admitted to the Queen’s College, Oxford in 1947, where he also won