Geoffrey Hartley composer

Geoffrey Hartley
(from a short autobiography written in 1982)

Born 23rd July 1906 at Boars Hill near Oxford. My father worked as a chemist for Lord Berkeley (uncle of Lennox Berkeley), and played the clarinet; my sisters played both violin and 'cello. I went to Harrow School and then to Christchurch, Oxford where I read Engineering.

I started playing the bassoon when aged 16, using an old Savary instrument from my father's collection (of which more mention further on), which I played in the school orchestra and the OTC band.

In 1929 I had a new Buffet-Crampon bassoon and some lessons from the late Ernest Hinchliffe, and played in the Oxford Orchestral Society under Maurice Besley and Guy Warrack. From 1927–1929 I was a pupil at the Daimler Motor Works in Coventry and while there changed from the Buffet to a Heckel (£36 new, including import duty!) From 1929–1931 I taught maths and music (wind instruments) at Bryanston School in Dorset and in 1931 became ARCM (bassoon). In 1932 I married my first wife (Phyllis) who played the flute, and I taught maths and music at Ottershaw College, near Chertsey, and played regularly for George Weldon at Newbury and Tunbridge Wells.

During my teaching career I did quite a lot of composing, mostly chamber works for wind instruments; in 1937 I wrote a Concerto for 3 bassoons and strings which was performed with the Hastings Municipal Orchestra, and at Newbury, and in 1945 with the Birmingham Orchestra. In 1938 I started going to Bernard Robinson's Music Camp, first at Hampstead Norreys near Newbury, and later near High Wycombe. From 1939-l945 I was at the Meteorological. Office, Instruments Branch, at Stonehouse in Gloucestershire, where I played in various local orchestras and also played horn in the Home Guard Brass Band at Stroud. I remained in the Met. Office i945–1960 at Wealdstone, and 1960–1979 at Bracknell.

From 1945 I did a fair amount of composing, mostly for wind groups, and also wrote 20 mini-cantatas based on well-known or original limericks; most were performed at Music Camp or at Met. Office concerts. In 1948 I started (with Ann Carew Robinson clarinet) the Occasional Wind Players — usually a wind octet, but varying in size both ways — still playing at the time of writing, and so far we have presented 292 concerts. I was for some years first bassoon in the Chelsea Opera Group under Colin Davis.

In 1947 I took over, and increased, my father's collection of old wind instruments which now numbers about 60 instruments. This collection will go to the R.C.M. when I pop off or become incompetent to look after it. [Geoffrey Hartley died in 1992]