Jane Parker-Smith | |
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Background information | |
Born | Northampton, United Kingdom | 20 May 1950
Died | 24 June 2020 London, United Kingdom | (aged 70)
Instrument(s) | Organ |
Jane Caroline Rebecca Parker-Smith (1950–2020) was a British classical organist.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7] Her obituary in The Guardian said she had "a stellar international career, popular with audiences for her wide-ranging sympathies and jaw-dropping virtuosity".[2]
Jane Caroline Rebecca Smith was born on 20 May 1950 in Northampton and moved soon after to Hampshire where she was educated at Barton Peveril Grammar School in Eastleigh. She then studied at the Royal College of Music, at first taking piano, cello and harpsichord before changing to the organ.[2] She used the name Parker-Smith professionally from her debut recital aged 20: Parker was her mother's maiden name.[2] She studied under Nicolas Kynaston , organist of Westminster Cathedral, whom she "acknowledged ... as the most important musical influence of her life", and Jean Langlais in Paris.[2]
She married John Gadney (died 2012) in 1996, and became stepmother to three children. She died on 24 June 2020.[2]