| Biography | Edward Godfrey Brown was born in Barrow-in-Furness, the son of Edward Brown, DMus, an organist and choral director. Godfrey studied violin, organ and piano at the Royal College of Music and for a time worked as an orchestral player in London. On his return to the north west of England he held the position of organist in a number of parish churches as well as conducting a different choral society on four nights of the week.
In 1912 he successfully applied for the post of conductor of the Belfast Philharmonic Society, made vacant by the resignation of Dr Francis Koeller who had held the post for twenty-five years. The position of organist of Holywood Parish Church became available at the same time and Brown was successful in securing it, and so he and his wife settled in Holywood at Fernbank.
Brown was made OBE in 1936 and retired from the BBC in the following year. But by this date the BBC was spending less on its orchestra and the days of plenty were over. With the outbreak of war in 1939 the forty musicians found themselves out of work. Brown continued the 'Phil' with a largely amateur orchestra until his retirement in 1950. Fittingly his last concert featured 'The Dream of Gerontius'.
Brown continued in his role of parish organist and teacher of private pupils. He had also established the Holywood Musical Festival in 1947 and remained as its Director until his death on 2 February 1955. He is buried in Redburn Cemetery.
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