Composer, born in Broad Heath, Hereford and Worcester, WC England, UK. He was largely self-taught, and in his youth worked as a violinist before becoming conductor of the Worcester Glee Club and the County Asylum Band, and organist of St George's Roman Catholic Church, Worcester. After his marriage to Caroline Alice Roberts (1889) he went to London, but in 1891 settled in Malvern, devoting himself to composition. The Enigma Variations (1899) and the oratorio The Dream of Gerontius (1900) made him the leading figure in English music. After the Elgar Festival (London, 1904) he was knighted. His further works included oratorios, symphonies, concertos, and incidental music. From 1924 he was Master of the King's Musick.