Born: February 27, 1848, Bournemouth, England.
Died: October 7, 1918, near Littlehampton, England.
Buried: Chapel of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, St. Paul’s Cathedral, London, England.
While a student at Eton, Parry took music lessons from George Elvey. The instruction was so successful that Parry earned a Bachelor’s of Music from Oxford at age 18.
After graduation, he worked for three years as a clerk at the insurance company of Lloyds of London.
He published his first orchestral work in 1878 (Piano Concerto in F# Minor), and went on to compose a wide variety of works: oratorios, librettos, chamber pieces, cantatas, odes, choral works and solo songs.
In 1883, Parry became a teacher at the Royal College of Music, and rose to be its second director (1894–1918).
He was knighted in 1898, and made a baronet in 1903.
His setting for Milton’s Blest Pair of Sirens, and his Jerusalem were sung at the wedding of Britain’s Prince William and Catherine Middleton in Westminster Abbey, London, April 29, 2011.