My father, David Adams, who has died aged 80 of oesophageal cancer, was a well-known musical director, teacher and community impresario; he recently celebrated 50 years as church organist. Later in his career David played a key role in devising the musical curriculum on a national level and became an Ofsted school inspector. He also spent 20 years as the chair of Edexcel examiners for GSCE music.
Born in Kirkcaldy, Fife, to Edith (nee Winter) and William Adams, a shipbuilder at Rosyth docks, by the age of 11 David was regularly playing the organ at the local congregational church and at the Methodist church, where they had a small foot pedal instrument.
He attended Kirkcaldy high school and went on to study music at Edinburgh University in the 1960s, where he was awarded the Alfred Hollins Memorial Organ scholarship, and also gained a diploma from the Royal College of Music, London. In Edinburgh he met Patricia Stevenson and they married in 1966.
Intending to pursue postgraduate study in church music, David and Patricia moved to Cambridge. There he joined Sawston Village college, a secondary school opened in 1930, in order to gain some practical teaching experience, and became director of music and a member of the college’s senior management team.
David began playing the organ at All Saints Church in Little Shelford in 1974 and was also musical director for the local community orchestra, Sawston Light Opera Group, Sawston Youth Drama and Duxford Music Workshop.
He encouraged everyone to join in. His orchestras were inclusive and it did not matter if he had six flutes and two violins. He wanted everyone to be part of the music and enjoy it. He made Sawston Village college a renowned centre of musical excellence. Young students started out hesitantly, then became confident performers, with many going on to professional careers as musicians.
He loved church music and in his spare time spent many hours in King’s College Chapel and Ely Cathedral, especially in order to take part in his favourite service, Evensong.
In his retirement David was an active Freemason and served as organist for five Masonic chapters: United Grand Lodge, Supreme Grand Chapter, Mark, Royal and Select Masters and the Red Cross of Constantine.
Patricia died in 2023. David is survived by his children, Ruth, Pete and me, and his brother, Hadyn.
