Horace Reyner

Reyner, Horace

Horace (Waters) Reyner. Organist, choir conductor, b England 23 Oct 1866, d Montreal 31 Aug 1912. He studied with Alfred Broughton, whom he succeeded (1883) as organist of St Mark's Parish Church, Leeds. Arriving in Canada in 1887 he held church positions, first in Kingston, Ont, and then in Montreal. He taught 1896-9 at the Dominion College of Music and 1904-5 at the McGill Cons. He was the founder-conductor 1897-1901 of the 50-voice Motet Choir and 1902-8 of the Montreal Oratorio Society. Reyner served 1895-7 as conductor of the Montreal Orchestral Association and 1896-7 as conductor of the Handel and Haydn Society. He conducted the Canadian premieres of several works, notably Elgar's The Dream of Gerontius (1906). In 1906 he became organist-choirmaster of the Chief Methodist Episcopal Church in Duluth, Minn, and in 1911 he was invited to conduct the St Paul SO in festivals. Reyner composed the sacred song 'I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say' (Suckling 1893), the part song 'Close His Eyes' (Anglo-Canadian 1895), and The May Bell March for piano (Featherston Piano Co ca 1899).