Victor Edward Galway

Last updated April 14, 2019

Victor Edward Galway (24 May 1894—9 July 1960) was a New Zealand music academic, organist, conductor and composer.

An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ. An organist may play solo organ works, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumental soloists. In addition, an organist may accompany congregational hymn-singing and play liturgical music.

Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance, such as an orchestral or choral concert. It has been defined as "the art of directing the simultaneous performance of several players or singers by the use of gesture." The primary duties of the conductor are to interpret the score in a way which reflects the specific indications in that score, set the tempo, ensure correct entries by ensemble members, and "shape" the phrasing where appropriate. Conductors communicate with their musicians primarily through hand gestures, usually with the aid of a baton, and may use other gestures or signals such as eye contact. A conductor usually supplements their direction with verbal instructions to their musicians in rehearsal.

A composer is a musician who is an author of music in any form, including vocal music, instrumental music, electronic music, and music which combines multiple forms. A composer may create music in any music genre, including, for example, classical music, musical theatre, blues, folk music, jazz, and popular music. Composers often express their works in a written musical score using musical notation.

Biography

Victor Galway was born in Colchester, Essex, England. He attended Ayr Academy and studied organ under Frederick Ely. In 1911 he emigrated with his family to Australia, where he studied music at the University of Melbourne. He graduated with a Bachelor of Music degree in 1916, and in 1923 became the university's first student to complete the requirements for the Doctor of Music degree.

Colchester is a historic market town and the largest settlement within the borough of Colchester in the county of Essex. Colchester was the first Roman-founded city in Britain, and Colchester lays claim to be regarded as Britain's oldest recorded town. It was for a time the capital of Roman Britain, and is a member of the Most Ancient European Towns Network.

Essex is a county in the south-east of England, north-east of London. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and London to the south-west. The county town is Chelmsford, the only city in the county. For government statistical purposes Essex is placed in the East of England region.

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to the west and Scotland to the north-northwest. The Irish Sea lies west of England and the Celtic Sea lies to the southwest. England is separated from continental Europe by the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south. The country covers five-eighths of the island of Great Britain, which lies in the North Atlantic, and includes over 100 smaller islands, such as the Isles of Scilly and the Isle of Wight.

In 1919 Galway moved to Dunedin, New Zealand, to take up the position of organist and choirmaster at First Church of Otago. He became the first lecturer in music at the University of Otago in 1925, and the first Blair Professor of Music at the university in 1939. That year he also left his post at First Church to become organist and choirmaster at St. Paul's Cathedral, Dunedin.

Dunedin is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from Dùn Èideann, the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland.

New Zealand is a sovereign island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. The country geographically comprises two main landmasses—the North Island, and the South Island —and around 600 smaller islands. New Zealand is situated some 2,000 kilometres (1,200 mi) east of Australia across the Tasman Sea and roughly 1,000 kilometres (600 mi) south of the Pacific island areas of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga. Because of its remoteness, it was one of the last lands to be settled by humans. During its long period of isolation, New Zealand developed a distinct biodiversity of animal, fungal, and plant life. The country's varied topography and its sharp mountain peaks, such as the Southern Alps, owe much to the tectonic uplift of land and volcanic eruptions. New Zealand's capital city is Wellington, while its most populous city is Auckland.

The University of Otago is a collegiate university located in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand. It scores highly for average research quality, and in 2006 was second in New Zealand only to the University of Auckland in the number of A-rated academic researchers it employs. In the past it has topped the New Zealand Performance Based Research Fund evaluation.

Galway also served as conductor of the Dunedin Choral Society, conductor of the Otago University Musical Society, and president of the Otago Society of Musicians. Most of his compositions were for choral music, and several of his pieces were published by Oxford University Press.

In 1935, he was awarded the King George V Silver Jubilee Medal,^[1] and in 1953, he was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal.^[2]

The King George V Silver Jubilee Medal is a commemorative medal, instituted to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the accession of King George V.

The Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal is a commemorative medal instituted to celebrate the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II on 2 June 1953.

Galway suffered a stroke in 1954 and shortly afterwards retired from the University of Otago. He died at Cherry Farm Hospital, near Dunedin, on 9 July 1960, survived by his daughter. His wife Janette, whom he married in 1917, predeceased him.

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References

↑ "Official jubilee medals". Evening Post. 6 May 1935. p. 4. Retrieved 2 July 2013.
↑ Taylor, Alister (1998). The New Zealand Roll of Honour. Alister Taylor. p. 411. ISBN 0-908578-58-X.

Campbell, Margaret. Music in Dunedin. Dunedin: Charles Begg and Co., 1945.
Drummond, John D., 'Galway, Victor Edward' in Dictionary of New Zealand Biography Auckland: Auckland University Press; Wellington: Department of Internal Affairs.
Griffiths, Vernon, ‘Leading New Zealand musicians: II – Dr V. E. Galway’. Music in New Zealand 1, No 2 (May 1931): pp. 36–37.
Liddell, Carol, 'Galway, Victor Edward' in Southern People: A Dictionary of Otago Southland Biography, ed. Jane Thomson. Dunedin: Dunedin City Council and Longacre Press, 1998.
Thomson, John M., Biographical Dictionary of New Zealand Composers. Wellington, 1990.
White, Raymond, Joy in the Singing Dunedin: Music Fyne, 1989.

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[EP-1] "Official jubilee medals". Evening Post. 6 May 1935. p. 4. Retrieved 2 July 2013.

[2] Taylor, Alister (1998). The New Zealand Roll of Honour. Alister Taylor. p. 411. ISBN 0-908578-58-X.