Barry Rose

In the 1998 Birthday Honours list, Rose was appointed OBE for his services to cathedral music, and in December 2021, he self-published his memoirs, entitled Sitting on a Pin.

In 1997, with his wife and three children, he moved to the village of Draycott in Somerset, from where he has continued his musical work, mainly with choirs in the United States, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. He also finds time to indulge his passion in collecting and restoring vintage fountain pens.

Rose left St Paul's in 1984 after a major difference of opinion with senior members of the clergy. From St Paul's, he was invited to go to the King's School, Canterbury and took the position of Master of the Choirs. His last cathedral post was in 1988, as Master of the Music at the Cathedral and Abbey Church of St Alban, from which he retired on Christmas Day 1997. While at St.Albans, the boys and men of his choir recorded and broadcast regularly, as well as touring the USA no less than five times in the space of just nine years.

In 1971, Rose succeeded George Thalben-Ball as Religious Music Adviser to the BBC's Head of Religious Broadcasting, a post he was to hold until 1990. In 1974, he had been invited to move to St Paul's Cathedral, London, initially as sub-organist, and in 1977 was appointed to the specially created post of Master of the Choir. He took over those duties at the Silver Jubilee Service for Queen Elizabeth II on 3 June 1977, for which he wrote a setting of Psalm 121. He subsequently directed the choir in their daily worship services, several state occasions, as well as a visit to the USA and Canada in June 1980. Under Rose's direction, the choir explored popular music and made a gold-selling recording of "My Way", and performed on the Chris Squire and Alan White Christmas single "Run with the Fox"; Squire was a former Kingsbury choirboy. Soloists from the choir also provided the original recordings of "Walking in the Air" from The Snowman (Peter Auty), and the closing signature tune – Geoffrey Burgon's setting of the Nunc Dimittis – for the TV series Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (Paul Phoenix). Several of the choristers also took part in the Paul McCartney song "We All Stand Together" for the animated film Rupert and the Frog Song.

At Guildford he founded a choir to sing the daily services, their first public appearance being the service of consecration on 17 May 1961 in the presence of Queen Elizabeth II, and Duke of Edinburgh. The choir made several recordings in the cathedral for EMI Records, of which some were awarded platinum, gold, and silver status.

In 1956, he joined Martindale Sidwell's choir at Hampstead Parish Church as a bass, and eighteen months later became organist and choirmaster at St Andrew's Church, Kingsbury. While at Kingsbury, Sir Thomas Armstrong offered Rose a place at the Royal Academy of Music to study organ with C. H. Trevor. In April 1960, whilst still a 25-year-old unqualified academy student, Rose became the youngest cathedral organist in the country when he was appointed as the first Organist & Master of the Choristers at the new Guildford Cathedral.

Barry Michael Rose OBE FRAM FRSCM HonFRCO (born 24 May 1934) is a choir trainer and organist. He is best known for founding the choir and the pattern of daily sung worship at the new Guildford Cathedral in 1961, as well as directing the music at the 1981 wedding of Charles, Prince of Wales and Diana, Princess of Wales at St Paul's Cathedral in London.