John Hebden

John Hebden (1712–1765) was a composer and musician in 18th century Great Britain.

Little is known of Hebden's life. He was baptized on 21 July 1712 at Spofforth, near Harrogate in Yorkshire, the son of 'John Hebdin' of Plompton. He was orphaned when young but was fortunate enough to receive an excellent education, including musical tuition.

He lived most of his life in York. In 1732, he married Mary Prestland. Their first son, John, born in 1733, survived only a short time. A second son was baptized in 1736, but Mary died shortly afterwards, in 1737. Hebden was left with the responsibility of bringing up his small son and working long hours earning enough to live. When Hebden was dying, he arranged for money to be left in trust for his son, to be released in only small amounts.

Around 1742, Hebden moved to London, and when composer Thomas Arne enlarged the orchestra at Vauxhall Gardens in 1745, he became the principal cellist and bassoonist. It is also known that he played in a performance of Messiah directed by George Frideric Handel himself, to raise money for the Foundling Hospital.

Hebden was principally an orchestral player and as such his social status and his income would have been low. He might, had he chosen, have supplemented his income considerably by composing popular songs, as did a number of his fellow musicians. Hebden was a professional bassoonist, gamba (viol) player and cellist and, in the 1730s, composed music for a small local professional orchestra containing "all the best Hands in Town." They gave many concerts at the York Assembly Rooms, which were designed by Richard Boyle, 3rd Earl of Burlington who was a patron to Handel.

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