Alexander Faris facts for kids
Samuel Alexander "Sandy" Faris (born 11 June 1921 – died 28 September 2015) was a talented musician from Northern Ireland. He was a composer, conductor, and writer. Many people knew him for his catchy TV theme songs, especially the one for the popular 1970s show Upstairs, Downstairs.
Sandy Faris also wrote and recorded many operas and musicals. He composed music for films, like Georgy Girl, and created orchestral pieces. As a conductor, he was famous for bringing back old operettas by composers like Jacques Offenbach and Gilbert and Sullivan.
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Early Life and Musical Beginnings
Sandy Faris was born in Caledon, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. He was the third of four children. His father was a minister, and his mother was a schoolteacher. When Sandy was very young, his father passed away. His mother then moved the family to Belfast. There, she became the headmistress of Victoria College, a girls' school.
His mother quickly noticed Sandy's natural gift for music. She made sure he had piano lessons. He went to the Royal Belfast Academical Institution for his schooling. Later, he won a special scholarship to study music at Christ Church, Oxford University.
During World War II, Sandy Faris served in the Irish Guards. After the war, he stayed in Europe for a while. He helped to fix and reopen damaged German opera houses. In 1948, he attended the Royal College of Music. He then started working with the Carl Rosa Opera Company, helping to train the singers.
Becoming a Conductor
Sandy Faris first conducted a show in London in 1949. It was a musical called Song of Norway at the Palace Theatre. In the 1950s, he became the music director for the Carl Rosa company. He also conducted for the Royal Ballet.
He conducted other musicals, such as Summer Song in Manchester in 1955. In 1958, he conducted Irma La Douce in London's West End. In 1956, he received a special fellowship to study in New York at the Juilliard School.
Back in London in 1959, he was the music director for the first European show of Candide by Leonard Bernstein. In 1960, he worked with Sadler's Wells Opera. He and director Wendy Toye helped make operettas by Jacques Offenbach popular again. They started with Orpheus in the Underworld, which was performed many times. In 1961, they followed with La Vie parisienne. He also conducted other operas like Madam Butterfly in 1966.
Gilbert and Sullivan and Later Career
Sandy Faris had a special connection to the works of Gilbert and Sullivan. These are famous British operettas. He first conducted parts of The Mikado, The Gondoliers, and The Pirates of Penzance in 1961.
In January 1962, he conducted Iolanthe with Sadler's Wells. He also conducted The Mikado for the same company. Later, he was asked to conduct the very last season of the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company in 1981–82. He was one of the conductors on their final night in London.
Sandy Faris conducted The Mikado for the Turkish National Opera in Ankara. He also conducted The Yeomen of the Guard at the Tower of London in 1978. He conducted twelve of the Savoy operas for a video series in 1982. Four years later, he conducted ten overtures (opening pieces) by Sullivan.
He also conducted many other musicals in London's West End. These included Robert and Elizabeth (1964) and Oklahoma! (1980). Sandy Faris also conducted for the London Symphony Orchestra and other orchestras. He arranged music for famous singer Luciano Pavarotti.
Sandy Faris composed music for films like The Quare Fellow (1962), He Who Rides a Tiger (1965), and Georgy Girl (1966). He also wrote a book about Jacques Offenbach in 1980. In 2009, he wrote his own life story called Da Capo Al Fine: A Life in Music.
Famous TV Theme Tunes
For television, Sandy Faris wrote the theme music for several shows. These included The Duchess of Duke Street (1976), Wings (1977), and Fanny by Gaslight (1981).
His most famous composition was the theme for Upstairs, Downstairs (1971). This theme, officially called "The Edwardians," became very popular. It even won Sandy Faris an Ivor Novello Award in 1976. The theme was so loved that it was used again for a later version of the show in 2010.
"The Edwardians" was also used for a finance segment on BBC Radio 4's PM news program. Listeners sent in many different versions of the theme, from bossa nova to heavy metal. By 2010, 83 different versions had been played on the program! Sandy Faris even conducted a special CD of these versions in 2010. The CD helped raise over £70,000 for the Children in Need charity.
He also wrote other songs, including "What Are We Going to Do With Uncle Arthur?" and "With Every Passing Day." His other compositions include a song for the choir of the Irish Guards and an orchestral piece called Sketches of Regency England.
Sandy Faris passed away in 2015 at the age of 94.
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