Derek Bell (musician) facts for kids

George Derek Fleetwood Bell, also known as Derek Bell, was a very talented musician from Northern Ireland. He was born on October 21, 1935, and passed away on October 17, 2002. Derek Bell was famous for playing many instruments, especially the harp, piano, and oboe. He was best known for playing with the well-known Irish band, The Chieftains. He was also a composer, meaning he wrote his own music, and a music expert.

A Talented Classical Musician

Derek Bell was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland. When he was very young, doctors thought he might lose his eyesight. Because of this, his parents encouraged him to learn music. He was a child prodigy, which means he was incredibly skilled at music from a young age. He wrote his first big piece of music, called a concerto, when he was only 12 years old.

He studied music at the Royal College of Music and finished his studies in 1957. There, he became friends with the famous flute player James Galway. From 1958 to 1990, Derek Bell wrote many classical music pieces. These included three piano sonatas, two symphonies, and pieces for the harp and oboe.

Derek Bell was a master of many instruments. He had a large collection of different harps, a harpsichord, a piano, and a cimbalom (a type of hammered dulcimer). He also played all the instruments in the oboe family, like the oboe, cor anglais, and bass oboe.

He also worked as the manager of the Belfast Symphony Orchestra. His job was to make sure the instruments were well-kept and in tune. He became curious about the harp and learned to play it. In 1965, he became an oboist and harpist for the BBC Northern Ireland Orchestra. He was very good at playing different kinds of harps, including the pedal harp and the Irish-Bardic harp. He even taught harp at the Academy of Music in Belfast.

Derek Bell appeared in a BBC show called The Celts in 1986. He talked about how the harp changed over time in Irish and Welsh culture. He also performed with singer Van Morrison in 1988. A BBC special showed Derek Bell talking and playing music with Van Morrison.

Playing the Dulcimer

The hammered dulcimer is an instrument that was played in Ireland a long time ago. Derek Bell brought a small cimbalom to the band, which is a type of hammered dulcimer from Central and Eastern Europe. He called it a tiompan, which was the name of an old Irish instrument from the Middle Ages.

Derek Bell also admired the music of a composer named Nikolai Medtner. He helped start the first British Medtner Society. This group held concerts to share Medtner's music with more people.

Joining The Chieftains

On St Patrick's Day in 1972, Derek Bell played music by Turlough O'Carolan on the radio. O'Carolan was a blind Irish harpist from the 1700s. Several members of The Chieftains also worked on this project with Bell.

Derek Bell became good friends with Paddy Moloney, the leader of The Chieftains. For a few years, he played with both the BBC Northern Ireland Orchestra and The Chieftains. Finally, in 1975, he became a full-time member of The Chieftains.

His Unique Personality

Derek Bell was known for being a bit eccentric, which means he had a unique and unusual personality. He was the only member of The Chieftains who always wore a tie during performances. He also loved to wear socks with fun designs, like Looney Tunes characters. He often wore suits that looked a bit messy, with trousers that were too short.

He enjoyed working with many different artists, such as Van Morrison, Sting, and even a Chinese orchestra. In 1991, he recorded music with his old friend, the flute player James Galway. Derek Bell was given an MBE award in 2000 for his great contributions to traditional music.

His Spiritual Journey

From the early 1960s, Derek Bell was friends with Swami Kriyananda, who was also a composer. Bell visited Kriyananda at his spiritual center in Ananda village in Nevada City, California. Derek Bell wrote the introduction for one of Kriyananda's books, Art As a Hidden Message. He said he was inspired to record some of Kriyananda's music.

His first album with Kriyananda, called Mystic Harp, received good reviews. People said it was a lovely album full of charm. His last album, Mystic Harp vol II, was also with Kriyananda. These albums had a different, more calming style of music, known as new age, compared to his usual traditional and classical pieces. Just weeks before he passed away, Derek Bell visited Kriyananda again in August 2002. Although he grew up as a Protestant, he later became a Buddhist.

His Passing

Derek Bell passed away from a heart attack in Phoenix, Arizona, on October 17, 2002. He was almost 67 years old. He is remembered at Cambridge House Grammar School in Ballymena, where a house is named Bell House in his honor.

Solo Albums

• Carolan's Receipt (1975)
• Carolan's Favourite (1980)
• Derek Bell Plays With Himself (1981)
• Musical Ireland (1982)
• From Sinding To Swing (1983)
• Ancient Music for the Irish Harp (1989)
• Mystic Harp (1996)
• A Celtic Evening with Derek Bell (1997)
• Mystic Harp (Volume II) (1999)

See also

In Spanish: Derek Bell (músico) para niños