John Bertalot

John Bertalot (15 September 1931 – 21 February 2026) was an English organist, who served at Blackburn Cathedral in England and at Trinity Church in Princeton, New Jersey, in the United States.[1]

Life and career

Bertalot was born in Maidstone, Kent, on 15 September 1931 to Francis Charles Bertalot (1899−1967) and Dorothy Marie Allcock (1905−1980).[2] His grandfather, Giacomo Augusto Bertalot (1865−1929), was an Italian coal merchant who settled in Wales.[3][4]

Bertalot was inspired to study the organ during a visit to Canterbury Cathedral as a child. He subsequently trained at the Royal College of Music in London and was an organ scholar at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, from 1955 to 1958. He served as organist of St Matthew's Church, Northampton, from 1958 to 1964 and of Blackburn Cathedral from 1964 to 1983. He then moved to the United States, where he was organist of Trinity Church, Princeton, in New Jersey from 1983 to 1998, and founded the Princeton Singers.[1]

At Blackburn, Bertalot was credited with building the reputation of the cathedral choir and, with Francis Jackson, designing the cathedral's new organ in 1969.[1]

Bertalot was known for his practical approach to teaching.[1] He was the author of several guides to choir directing and sight-singing: John Bertalot's Immediately Practical Tips for Choral Directors,[5] Five Wheels to Successful Sight-Singing[6] and How to be a Successful Choir Director.[7]

He died on 21 February 2026, at the age of 94.[8] His funeral was held at Blackburn Cathedral on 14 March 2026.[9]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Blackburn Life, "Blackburn Cathedral pays tribute after death of former music director Dr John Bertalot", 21 February 2026. Retrieved 12 March 2026.
  2. ^ England and Wales Civil Registration Birth Index, October−December 1931, Hollingbourne, Kent, vol. 2a, p. 1432.
  3. ^ 1939 England and Wales Register, registration district 84-3, schedule 276, sub-schedule 1.
  4. ^ England and Wales Censuses: 1901 (East Cardiff sub-registration district, piece 4974, folio 14, p. 20); 1911 (East Cardiff sub-registration district, piece 32082, schedule 293); and 1921 (Llandaff sub-registration district, enumeration district 28, schedule 234).
  5. ^ Bertalot, John (1994). John Bertalot's Immediately Practical Tips for Choral Directors. Augsburg Fortress. ISBN 0-8066-2810-3.
  6. ^ Bertalot, John (1993). 5 Wheels to Successful Sight-singing. Augsburg Fortress. ISBN 0-8066-2692-5.
  7. ^ Bertalot, John (2002). How to be a Successful Choir Director. Kevin Mayhew. ISBN 1-84003-865-9.
  8. ^ Organ world mourns transatlantic director of music Slipped Disc
  9. ^ Blackburn Cathedral, The Funeral of Dr John Bertalot, 14 March at 10:30 am. Retrieved 25 February 2026.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.