Stanley Bligh

Bligh, Stanley

Stanley (Arthur) Bligh. Critic, b Luton, England, 9 Sep 1883, d Harpenden, England, 11 Nov 1975. Bligh was raised in Yorkshire, where he served as organist-choirmaster in his local parish; he moved in 1911 to Taber, near Lethbridge, Alta, then in 1922 to Winnipeg, and finally in 1924 to Vancouver. In 1934 he joined the staff of the Vancouver Sun and included music criticism among his duties. Although he retired in 1961, he continued to write occasional pieces for the Sun until he returned to England in 1971. One of his great loves was choral music, and he conducted ensembles in Vancouver until the early 1950s. In 1936 he co-produced A Midsummer Night's Dream with E.V. Young at the outdoor Brockton Oval, and later he conducted a full orchestra and 200-voice choir in Coleridge-Taylor's Hiawatha at the same location. These events set a precedent for TUTS. Through his writings he encouraged young musicians, urged impresarios to bring in first-rate performers, and campaigned for the construction of suitable concert halls.