News

Husband and wife musicians celebrated at Durham University

(7 February 2007)

Well-known composer Anthony Payne and distinguished soprano Jane Manning have been honoured by Durham University when they became the first married couple to receive honorary Doctorates of Music at Durham.

Payne who read music at Durham as part of St Cuthbert’s Society graduated in 1961. He is most famous for completing Edward Elgar’s Third Symphony, working through more than 130 pages of sketches left by Elgar after his death, and writing three large orchestral pieces commissioned by the BBC for performance at the Promenade concerts. His version of the Third Symphony was first performed in 1998 and received immediate world-wide acclaim. He has since also composed a version of Pomp and Circumstance March No 6 from Elgar’s incomplete sketches of the work. The BBC Philharmonic will be performing Elgar’s Third Symphony in Durham Cathedral on 6 February as part of a two day music festival. With more than 40 years experience and over 350 world premieres to date, Jane Manning is arguably one of the most celebrated singers of contemporary music in the last 50 years. She has appeared with many of the world’s leading orchestras and ensembles. Her interpretations of the major twentieth century classics are widely regarded as definitive, especially Schoenberg’s Pierrot Lunaire, which she has performed with over 20 ensembles world-wide. She has performed extensively at Durham, reflecting the University Music Department’s interests in contemporary music and composition, and was one of the first performers in the University’s concert series 40 years ago. She is also a published author and much in demand for lectures, seminars and master classes which she has undertaken around the world in institutes such as Harvard, Yale and Mills College, California, where she has been a Visiting Professor four times. Jeremy Dibble, Professor of Music at Durham University, said: “It is particularly fitting that these two individuals have been honoured in this way as they have made huge contributions to contemporary music and both have long-standing links with Durham University. Their influence on British music and Payne’s work in composition reflects strongly on the research strengths of the music department.” Professor Sir Kenneth Calman, Vice-Chancellor of Durham University, who awarded the degrees, commented: “Durham’s music department is one of the leading centres for the study of music in Britain with an international reputation. We are proud to have long associations with Anthony Payne and Jane Manning and I throroughly enjoyed welcoming them back to Durham and celebrating their achievements in this way.”