No . 138
The Trusty Servant
Tony Ayres 1944-2024
Colleagues , pupils and Furley ' s House dons pay tribute to the magnificent variety of Tony Ayres ’ s five decades of contributions to Winchester life .
A short Obituary is published on page 38 .
Christopher Tolley ( CoRo , 79-17 ; Director of Chapel Music , 92-07 ) begins : Tony Ayres never went to bed . If things got particularly exhausting , for example in the run-up to the Jun Play , his eyes might close for a few minutes during Chapel Choir alto practice , a commitment he would never have dreamed of missing simply because he had a major job to do in the theatre . But generally he operated through the day and night with astonishing energy and stamina . It ’ s perfectly possible , he once told me , to do everything you want providing you organise your time properly . And I was told by someone else that Tony planned his days in two-minute segments : an exaggeration perhaps , but a truthful one . I can remember turning up to a rehearsal of my small part in an Ayres production of the Dons ’ pantomime . The rehearsal was scheduled for midnight , and when I arrived Tony was engrossed in another scene . He looked round briefly . ‘ We ’ re running late ’, he said . ‘ Come back at 2 a . m .’ years later he transferred to Chapel Choir , founded Cantores Episcopi , and became one of those polymathic , dedicated dons to whom Winchester College owes so much .
Alongside other colleagues with musical gifts ( though Tony ’ s gifts were not only musical ) he helped to make Music
School feel as if it had twice as many full-time staff as it really did . The list of his contributions to our music is substantial : Chapel Choir , where he sang for over forty years ; Cantores Episcopi ; second violin ( from 1972 ) in the Orchestra ; member of Glee Club and Julian Smith ’ s Kingsgate Singers ; co-director of Carmen ; producer of
When Tony was interviewed for a job teaching physics at the College he already had a Cathedral lay clerkship in his pocket , having just passed an audition with Alwyn Surplice . Tony recalled that John Thorn was ‘ a little put out ’ when he asked for Cathedral evensongs to be included in his timetable : an arrangement that would be ruled out now but could be tolerated in the more spacious days of the late 1960s . And John must have realised even at interview that Tony was worth it . Three
Tony at the 50th anniversary celebration of Cantores Espiscopi , 5th November 2023
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