Andrew Carter obit

Andrew Carter - In Memoriam 

He was not on the list.

We are saddened to learn of the passing of composer Andrew Carter. Our thoughts are with his family, students, and colleagues.

Andrew Carter was born in 1939 into a Leicestershire family of tower and handbell ringers. After completing a music degree at Leeds University, he joined the York Minster choir as a bass songman under the direction of the legendary Francis Jackson. For a decade, he also served as Director of Music at the nearby St. Mary’s Convent Grammar School, where he achieved his first successes as a choir trainer.

In 1965, Andrew founded the Chapter House Choir at York Minster. During his seventeen-year tenure as conductor, the mixed-voice concert group became nationally recognized, earning various awards in the BBC Let the Peoples Sing competition. In 1984, Andrew and his family were invited to New Zealand, where he spent a year as Director of the Auckland Dorian Choir, University Chamber Choir, and Youth Choir. Upon returning to York, his career as a freelance composer began to take shape.

Andrew Carter’s compositions were published over a period of thirty years. His early carol and folk song arrangements, written for his York choirs, were published by Banks Music Publications. Much of his music was later published by Oxford University Press, and by MorningStar Music Publishers.