William Henry Harris served as assistant to the organist of St David’s Cathedral in South Wales before a scholarship took him to the Royal College of Music in London; he had organ lessons with Sir Walter Parratt and studied composition with Charles Wood and Walford Davies. He served as assistant organist at Lichfield Cathedral, before appointment to New College, Oxford in 1919, where he eventually succeeded Sir Hugh Allen also as conductor of the Oxford Bach Choir. In 1929 he moved to Christ Church and four years later was appointed organist at St George’s Chapel, Windsor, where he remained for nearly 30 years. He was appointed KCVO in 1954.

Choral Music

Harris is known principally for his compositions for the liturgy of the Church of England and for choral settings designed for the Three Choirs Festival and for royal occasions, including the coronations of 1937 and 1953.