LITTON Cheney and Bothenhampton organist and choirmaster, Paul Cheater, has been appointed Principal of the National College of Music and Arts, London, following the unexpected death of the former principal Eric Hayward.
The college was founded in 1894 and is a music examination board, offering music examinations of all kinds, from the most basic to the advanced diplomas of Associate, Licentiate and Fellow. It is represented throughout the United Kingdom and in many other countries, from other parts of Europe to the Far East.
Mr Cheater said he was honoured.
He said: ""I am delighted to be able to do it. It is a great pleasure and a great privilege."
His appointment is the culmination of a distinguished career.
He added: "I was inspired when I was at schoolboy of 15 or 16 by a teacher called Roger Pope who became warden of Trinity College of Music.
"I just wanted to be able to play and be as much of a musician as he was.
"I studied the organ at Oxford and I have had a wonderful musical career ever since. I have been able to play in cathedrals all over the world and give recitals, it has just been terrific."
The National College of Music and Arts has a strong association with the Afghanistan National Institute of Music in Kabul, which provides a general and musical education for Afghan children between the ages of seven and 19, many of whom have been orphaned as a result of the ravages of war.
Mr Cheater was one of the institute’s founders, and it was he who designed its original music curriculum.
He studied the organ at Oxford’s University College and was elected as an Honorary Fellow of the National College of Music and Arts in 2003.
He said: "I have been involved with it since 2003 as part of the management team. Then my predecessor Eric Hayward who was the principal for many years since the 1970s passed away very unexpectedly.
"It was always his stated wish that I should take over from him when he did pass away."
and secondly that our Patron is the newsreader, Huw Edwards, who is a competent organist, pianist and flautist. The website (which is about to be upgraded) is www.nat-col-music.org.uk
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