C. Armstrong Gibbs

C. Armstrong Gibbs (b. 1889, Chelmsford, England; d. 1960, Chelmsford)

C. Armstrong Gibbs was a prolific composer, conductor, and adjudicator. He attended Trinity College Cambridge, where he studied composition and theory with E. J. Dent and Charles Wood. While at the school he wrote a musical, Crossings, to poetry of Walter de la Mare. Adrian Boult guest conducted the musical and was so impressed that he offered to pay Gibbs's tuition to the Royal College of Music, where Gibbs studied conducting with Boult and composition with Ralph Vaughan Williams.

Gibbs is known principally for his solo songs, but he also wrote music for the stage, sacred music, three symphonies, an oboe concerto, chamber music, piano pieces, and numerous part songs and choral works-including Odysseus, a choral symphony for soloists, chorus, and orchestra. Other choral works include hymn tunes, carols, anthems, and settings of canticles.

One of Gibbs's significant achievements was the founding of a choral society that participated in numerous festivals. He was eventually elected vice president of the National Federation of Music Festivals, in which role he conducted and adjudicated at festivals throughout England. His son was killed during active duty in World War II, and Gibbs was so devastated by the loss that he wrote little music during the last fifteen years of his life.