# Gordon Heard composer and flautist



## fluteylally

Hope this is the right space to ask this - I'm new to this game! I have a piece of music written by Gordon Heard, for flute and piano, called Olde Redding and dedicated to his wife, Noreen Mason, who was my first flute teacher. The internet says that GH was a flautist himself, but I knew him as my teacher's husband and also as a conductor of an orchestra in Hemel Hempstead, in the late 60s/early 70s. Can anyone verify this? Did he play the flute? What else did he write? Any help gratefully received!


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## mawashigeri

I know you posted this a long time ago so I just hope you are still listening. The sad news is that Gordon passed away and I have just come back from his funeral where Olde Redding was played. Yes he was a wonderful flautist and musician and educationalist, husband and father and I am sure he has written many other pieces. Noreen survives him and you would instantly recognise her and her wonderful laugh. She has hardly changed at all. Gordon and Noreen and my parents, Jean and John Langdon started the orchestra and Gordon's energy and genius pulled fantastic performances from local amateur musicians. At the funeral I mentioned your post to Julia, Gordon's youngest daughter and she encouraged me to make a reply. He touched so many other lives in such a long and full life that he will be sorely missed, not just by his family.


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## Head_case

I saw this post a long time ago and just presumed the poster was a one post wonder destined never to return 

Gordon Heard was indeed a flautist. I mentioned a while ago, maybe last week, that I was busy practicing Kohler's La Capricieuse, which I haven't played for years, and found that I couldn't sight read it as well as I had hoped at first attempt at reminiscence. 

This is edited by none other than Gordon Heard. I have a few pieces where his name crops up as editor - usually short 1 page pieces which I used to play when learning flute. He also wrote 'Vanessa's Waltz' and other English music for the flute. I have the flute score for this somewhere although it struck me as being more elementary than the depth work of Kohler, whose studies I love. 

It was a long time since I learnt flute though and as a child, the names didn't take on much more meaning than a reference. Given that Heard edited Kohler's compositions, I presumed he was of an older generation. His family should be pleased to celebrate that his memory lives on with many flute players, knowingly or unknowingly, who play flute repertoire, even if like me, never ever knew Gordon Heard. 

It's great to see Mawashigeri's post - Gordon's contributions to the flute repertoire shouldn't be forgotten!


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## fluteylally

Thanks for your reply, even if it is with the sad news that he has recently passed away. I never got to meet him, but he sounds like a wonderful man and obviously remembered with great affection. It's nice to know also that Noreen is still around. Think I probably know you from the old Watford School of Music days, where I studied, as I think I met your parents there.
(Am not allowed to send a personal message, as I haven't put up enough postings.)
Thanks for filling me in a bit more about Gordon - it would be nice to have some more of his music, although I think it's probably all long out of print, unless anyone out there knows otherwise.


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## fluteylally

Thanks for filling in some of the details about Gordon Heard - what a shame that I never got to meet him. I think I should look through some of my own music to see if it was edited by him! It would be nice to have some more of his own music - does anyone know if any of it is still in print?


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## Head_case

Hi again

welcome back 

Olde Redding is still in print. Chester Music publications and the northern sheet music publication specialists (I forget their name) who do flute music by Rideout; Alan Turnbull and other English recorder/flute publications, as well as the Music room still publish Olde Redding. Possibly Presto Classical as well. 

There is a lot of suite and smaller momento type encore pieces written by English composers which never seem to find their way into the mainstream. Some musicologist should do us a big favour by collecting these into one big fat volume. Sadly Boosey & Hawkes don't seem to include Gordon Heard in their collections. I love Boosey & Hawkes serious collections of sheet music


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## hreichgott

mawashigeri said:


> I know you posted this a long time ago so I just hope you are still listening. The sad news is that Gordon passed away and I have just come back from his funeral where Olde Redding was played. Yes he was a wonderful flautist and musician and educationalist, husband and father and I am sure he has written many other pieces. Noreen survives him and you would instantly recognise her and her wonderful laugh. She has hardly changed at all. Gordon and Noreen and my parents, Jean and John Langdon started the orchestra and Gordon's energy and genius pulled fantastic performances from local amateur musicians. At the funeral I mentioned your post to Julia, Gordon's youngest daughter and she encouraged me to make a reply. He touched so many other lives in such a long and full life that he will be sorely missed, not just by his family.


God bless the Internet.


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