Alfred Herbert Brewer

Sir Alfred Herbert Brewer was an English composer and organist. As organist of Gloucester Cathedral from 1896 until his death, he contributed a good deal to the Three Choirs Festival for 30 years.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article on Herbert Brewer.

From the period sources

Alfred Herbert Brewer, born in Gloucester in 1865, began his musical journey as a chorister at Gloucester Cathedral from January 1877 to December 1880, studying under Dr. C. H. Lloyd, then the cathedral’s organist (Grove’s Dictionary, 1904). After brief organ appointments at two Gloucester churches, St. Catherine’s and St. Mary de Crypt, in 1881-82, he succeeded Sir Walter Parratt as organist of St. Giles’ Church, Oxford, in September 1882. In April 1883, Brewer secured the first open organ scholarship at the Royal College of Music, where he continued his studies with Sir Walter Parratt and other professors, concurrently holding his post at St. Giles’ (Grove’s Dictionary, 1904). He was later elected organist of Bristol Cathedral in September 1885, and a year later became organist of St. Michael’s Church, Coventry. In 1896, Brewer returned to Gloucester Cathedral as organist and choir-master, succeeding his former teacher, Dr. C. H. Lloyd, a position he held at least until 1908 (Grove’s Dictionary, 1904; Dictionary of Music, 1908). His influence in Gloucester was noted for its “artistic progress,” and he conducted the Gloucester Choral Society, Orchestral Society, Orpheus, and Diocesan Choral Union, as well as the Gloucester Musical Festivals of 1898 and 1901 (Grove’s Dictionary, 1904). He received the degree of Mus.D. from the Archbishop of Canterbury in 1905 (Grove’s Dictionary, 1904).