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Andrew Seivewright left an indelible mark on the musical life of not only Cumbria but much further afield.
The master of music at Carlisle Cathedral for more than 30 years and a former church organist in Keswick, Mr Seivewright died on Friday Jan 7th aged 84.
Mr Seivewright, who lived at Millbeck, near Keswick. served as cathedral master of music from 1960 to 1991.
He founded the Abbey Singers in 1962 and took the group on tours throughout Europe and the USA.
He was an established composer whose latest choral CD, If Winter Comes, was released last year.
He was also a pianist, organist and conductor.
Following his retirement Mr Seivewright was organist at Crosthwaite Church in Keswick for four years and then, from 1994, at Grasmere.
He was a great supporter of Cumbria Rural Choirs, the Keswick Choral Society and of chamber music concerts at Keswick’s Theatre by the Lake.
He grew up, the son of a clergyman, in the Vale of Belvoir in Leicestershire, and he began playing the organ when he was 10 years old.
He studied at Denstone College before going on to read classics at King’s College, Cambridge.
Then came World War Two and he joined the RAF, training as a navigator in Canada.
After the war he returned to Cambridge and changed his mind about what he wanted to do, and read music instead.
He and his wife Nora made their home in Yorkshire, where he had teaching posts and then, in 1960, they moved to Carlisle.
Jeremy Suter, Carlisle Cathedral’s current master of music, said: “He was a kind, warm-hearted, genuine person. He always took a real interest in other people.
“He had a style that was individual to him. I would listen to a piece of music and know immediately that it was Andrew’s.”
In June of this year a concert was held to mark the 50 years that Mr Seivewright had devoted to churches across Cumbria.
Mr Suter said he hoped to hold a memorial concert in the new year to celebrate Mr Seivewright’s life.
Friend and former colleague Ian Hare said: “Music was his life. He was incredibly talented and a joy to work with.”
Mr Seivewright was also interested in sport and the arts in general.
He leaves wife Nora, their twin sons and two grandchildren. One of his sons is a concert pianist in Trinidad and the other is a consultant psychiatrist.
A funeral service and interment will be held at Crosthwaite Church, Keswick, on Tuesday Jan 11th.