Festival Suite - Longmire, John

Eight miniatures for piano, originally written for Music Teacher magazine. Suggested grade 2-3.

Longmire was born in Gainsborough in 1902 and the publication success of his innovative 'Nine Insect Pieces' in 1924 led to him writing over 50 volumes of music for the piano, many of which remain in print with Forsyth Publishing today. A long-time friend and biographer of John Ireland, they lived together in Guernsey while Ireland wrote some of his finest works and only narrowly escaped the German invasion of 1940, escaping on an overcrowded ferry pursued by a submarine.

After returning to the island post-war, Longmire composed the 'Song of Guernsey' for Princess Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh visit in 1949. Later in 1957, when Elizabeth visited again as Queen, he conducted his 'Song of Welcome' sung by 6600 children in St Peter Port. In 1950 he married and emigrated to New Zealand where he was Music Master at Northcote College, Auckland, conductor of the Royal Auckland Choir and a broadcaster hosting weekly talks on music on NZBC. Returning to Guernsey, he became an examiner for Trinity College of Music, also writing 100 pieces for the exam syllabus and adjudicating for Trinity and the ABRSM internationally.