He was one of the city's most famous musical characters - but who was Stanley Thomson?
1 GLASGOW organist, trombonist, teacher and conductor of the city’s famous Savoy Opera Club at the Pavilion and King’s Theatres for 30 years, Stanley Thomson had plenty of strings to his bow. In retirement he made jewellery and sold pendants, bangles, rings and Christening spoons at a stall he hired in the Barras.
2 Stanley, who was born in 1932, played cornet and piano at high school, and later, formed a brass quartet and a male voice quartet, and accompanied soloists on the accordion. After a spell as a Salvation Army officer in London, he enrolled as a student at the RSAMD (now the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland) and supported his studies by playing in the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, and by serving as organist of Partick Congregational Church and Govan Old Parish.
READ MORE: 'At 19, I brushed with death': Glasgow soldier shares Korean War diary
3 He went on to teach at Riverside School, Parkhead and became head of music at Jordanhill College School in 1963, inspiring many students to pursue careers in music – including composer Patrick Doyle, who has written the music for many Hollywood films, such as Bridget Jones’s Diary, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and animated Disney adventure, Brave.
4 In 1968, Stanley he was appointed to the theory staff of the RSAMD and he retired from there in 1990. His obituary in our sister newspaper The Herald notes: “After the rude interruption of heart bypass surgery he returned as a part-time senior lecturer (1991-1997), developing the practical musicianship component of the new degree course.”
READ MORE: Springburn man recalls when cows were chased down Duke Street
5 Stanley assisted the renowned Norman del Mar in conducting the Northern Junior Philharmonic Orchestra. He also loved adventure – he owned 58 cars and three small yachts, won many bowling trophies, and enjoyed performing magic tricks. He sadly died earlier this year, aged 89.
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel