John Lanchbery

John Lanchbery
Peter Lyons (musician) (left) with John Lanchbery (right)
Born	(1923-05-15)15 May 1923 London, England
Died	27 February 2003(2003-02-27) (aged 79) Melbourne, Australia
Occupation	Composer, musician

John Arthur Lanchbery OBE (15 May 1923 – 27 February 2003) was an English, later Australian, composer and conductor, famous for his ballet arrangements. He served as the Principal Conductor of the Royal Ballet from 1959 to 1972.

John Lanchbery was born into a working class family in London in 1923. Despite his family finances, he took violin lessons from the age of eight, when he started composing. He won a scholarship to Alleyn's School, a public school in Dulwich. Whilst at Dulwich he formed a lifetime friendship and collaborative partnership with Peter Lyons (musician) and also became friends with Kenneth Spring, whose mother was a composer and encouraged his musical talent. In 1942 he was awarded the Henry Smart Composition Scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music (RAM). His studies were interrupted the following year, and he served in the Royal Armoured Corps. After the war, Lanchberry spent two more years at the RAM. He then returned to Alleyn's as the second music master, hoping to be offered the position of head of music; when the job failed to materialise, he left to work for a music publisher. While working for the Anglo Soviet Music Press, they suggested that he audition for the post of conductor with the Metropolitan Ballet. He made his debut with them at Edinburgh in 1948. Two years later the orchestra collapsed for lack of funds but by then he had learned his craft. Working with choreographer Celia Franca, Lanchbery wrote The Eve of St Agnes (the story was based on John Keats' poem of the same name), one of the first commissioned ballets to be shown on BBC television.