Samuel Reay

Samuel Reay (17 March 1828 - 21 July 1905) was an organist and composer based in England.^[1]

Life[]

He was born on 17 March 1828, the son of George Agnew Reay, organist of Hexham Abbey, and Eleanor Spraggon.

His father moved to Ryton on Tyne and Samuel became a chorister in the choir at Durham Cathedral.

He is noted for having performed the first organ arrangement of Mendelssohn's "Wedding March" which he arranged whilst in Tiverton.^[2]

Whilst in Newark he was conductor of the Newark Philharmonic Society.

Assistant Organist of St Hilda's Church, South Shields 1839 - ????
Organist of Houghton-le-Spring
Organist of St Andrew's Church, Newcastle upon Tyne 1841 - 1845
Organist of St. Thomas the Martyr, Barras Bridge 1845 - 1847
Organist of St Peter's Church, Tiverton 1847 - 1854^[3]
Organist of St. John's Church, Hampstead 1854 - 1856
Organist of St. Saviour's Church, Warwick Road 1856- ????
Organist of St Stephen's Church, Westbourne Park, Paddington ???? - 1859
Organist of St. Peter's College, Radley 1859 - 1861
Organist of the Church of St Mary the Virgin, Bury 1861 - 1864
Organist of the Church of St. Mary Magdalene, Newark-on-Trent 1864 - 1901 and Master of the Song School 1864^[4] - 1905

His compositions include:

^ Brown, James D. & Stratton, Stephen S. (1897) British Musical Biography. Birmingham: S. S. Stratton
^ "Mendelssohn's Wedding March. First Performed at a Nuptial Ceremony at Tiverton". Western Gazette. British Newspaper Archive. 8 September 1904. Retrieved 28 August 2016 – via British Newspaper Archive.
^ "St Peter's Church, Election of Organist". Western Times. British Newspaper Archive. 18 February 1854. Retrieved 28 August 2016 – via British Newspaper Archive.
^ "Election of Song Schoolmaster at Newark". Nottinghamshire Guardian. British Newspaper Archive. 18 November 1864. Retrieved 28 August 2016 – via British Newspaper Archive.
^ Newark Parish Church of St Mary Magdalene, Brenda M. Pask, 2000. ISBN 0952636611