| Biography | Sir Hugh Percy Allen was an English musician, academic, and administrator. He was a leading influence on British musical life in the first half of the 20th century.
He won an organ scholarship to Christ's College, Cambridge, graduating in 1895. He became cathedral organist at St Asaph Cathedral and then Ely Cathedral, before, in 1901, becoming organist of New College, Oxford. In 1907 he was appointed conductor of the Bach Choir in London and in 1913 he shared the Leeds Festival with Artur Nikisch and Sir Edward Elgar. As Director of the Royal College, he expanded the size of the college from 200 to 600 students and consolidated the alliance between the Royal College and the Royal Academy of Music. The Royal Choral Society, the Royal Philharmonic Society and the Incorporated Society of Musicians owed much to his help when they experienced difficult times. |