Norman Del Mar

British horn player, conductor (specialised in the music of late romantic composers), teacher, and biographer. Born 31 July 1919 in Hampstead, London, England, UK - Died 6 February 1994 in Bushey, Hertfordshire, England, UK.
He studied at the [l290263] and started his career as a horn player. During World War II he saw service as a member of [a=The Central Band Of The Royal Air Force]. He was also a member of the [b]Royal Air Force Symphony Orchestra[/b]. He worked as a composer, and arranger after the war, while conducting an amateur orchestra, which eventually grew into the [a=Chelsea Symphony Orchestra]. He was one of the original members of [a=The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra] in 1946 and made his professional debut as a conductor with the RPO in 1947. In 1949, Del Mar was appointed principal conductor of [a=The English Opera Group], in which post he remained until 1954. He then held chief conducting posts with the [b]Yorkshire Symphony Orchestra[/b] (1954), the [a=BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra] (1960–1965), [a1015406] (1969-1973), the [b]Chamber Orchestra of the Royal Academy of Music[/b] (1973 - 1977), and the [a=Aarhus Symfoniorkester] (1985–1988, serving also as its Artistic Director). He taught conducting at [l305416] (1953-1960) and at the Royal College of Music (1972-1990).
Commander (CBE) - Order of the British Empire.
Father of [a=Jonathan Del Mar] and [a=Robin Del Mar].