Doreen Carwithen facts for kids
Doreen Carwithen (born November 15, 1922, died January 5, 2003) was a talented British composer. She wrote music for classical concerts and movies. She was also known as Mary Alwyn after she married fellow musician William Alwyn.
About Her Life
Doreen Carwithen was born on November 15, 1922, in Haddenham, Buckinghamshire. Her family lived in a house connected to her father's bakery and grocery store.
Doreen's first music teacher was her mother, Dulcie. Her mother was a talented pianist who taught music after she got married. Doreen started learning piano and violin from her mother when she was only four years old. Her younger sister, Barbara, also became a skilled musician and composer.
When she was 16, Doreen started writing her own music. One of her first pieces was a song based on the poem "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud" by William Wordsworth.
In 1941, Doreen went to the Royal Academy of Music. There, she played the cello in a string quartet and with orchestras. She also studied composition with William Alwyn, who would later become her husband.
Her first orchestral piece, an overture called ODTAA, was performed for the first time in 1947. The famous London Philharmonic Orchestra played it at Covent Garden. A year before this, she became the first person to receive a special film scholarship from J. Arthur Rank.
In 1961, Doreen became William Alwyn's secretary and helped him with his writing and music. They got married in 1975. She started using her middle name, Mary, as her married name, becoming Mary Alwyn, because she didn't like the name Doreen.
Later, she taught composition at the Royal Academy of Music. After William Alwyn passed away in 1985, Doreen created the William Alwyn Archive and Foundation. These groups help share his music and support research about his work.
After focusing on her husband's legacy, Doreen also became interested in her own music again. In 1999, she had a stroke that left one side of her body paralyzed. She passed away on January 5, 2003, near Norwich.
Her Music and Works
Doreen Carwithen wrote music for more than 30 films. Some of these include Harvest from the Wilderness (1948), Boys in Brown (1950), Mantrap (1952), The Men of Sherwood Forest (1954), and Three Cases of Murder (1955).
She was known in the film industry for being very professional and fast, especially when under pressure. For example, she had to finish the music for Elizabeth Is Queen, the official film about the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, in just three days!
Her orchestral works include the overture ODTAA (1945), a Concerto for piano and strings (1948), the overture Bishop Rock (1952), and the Suffolk Suite (1964). She also wrote two string quartets, which won awards but were not well-known until they were recorded in 1998. She also composed seven solo songs early in her career.
Doreen also helped prepare her husband William Alwyn's second piano concerto so it could be performed.
In 2022, a Doreen Carwithen Music Festival was held in Haddenham to celebrate 100 years since her birth.
