Eric Francis Harrison Coates[n 1] (27 August 1886 – 21 December 1957) was an English composer of light music and, early in his career, a leading violist.
Coates was born into a musical family, but, despite his wishes and obvious talent, his parents only reluctantly allowed him to pursue a musical career. He studied at the Royal Academy of Music under Frederick Corder (composition) and Lionel Tertis (viola), and played in string quartets and theatre pit bands, before joining symphony orchestras conducted by Thomas Beecham and Henry Wood. Coates's experience as a player added to the rigorous training he had received at the academy and contributed to his skill as a composer.
While still working as a violist, Coates composed songs and other light musical works. In 1919 he gave up the viola permanently and from then until his death he made his living as a composer and occasional conductor. His prolific output includes the London Suite (1932), of which the well-known "Knightsbridge March" is the concluding section; the waltz "By the Sleepy Lagoon" (1930); and "The Dam Busters March" (1954). His early compositions were influenced by the music of Arthur Sullivan and Edward German, but Coates's style evolved in step with changes in musical taste, and his later works incorporate elements derived from jazz and dance-band music. His output consists almost wholly of orchestral music and songs. With the exception of one unsuccessful short ballet, he never wrote for the theatre, and only occasionally for the cinema.
^Payne, p. 11
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"Funeral: Mr. EricCoates", The Times, 27 December 1957, p. 8 Self, p. 87 Payne, p. 80 Payne, p. 72 Payne, p. 37 Coates, p. vii Payne, p. xv EricCoates: Orchestral...
Austin Coates (1922–1997) was a British civil servant, writer and traveller. He was the son of noted English composer EricCoates. Austin Coates wrote...
compositions by EricCoates. The works are categorized by genre, date of composition and title. Four Centuries: Music of EricCoates, Vol. 2, ASV, 1993...
Children's Favourites and the CBS children's programme Captain Kangaroo. EricCoates' marches in particular were popular choices as theme music. The "Dambusters...
serenade by British composer EricCoates, written in 1930. In 1940 American songwriter Jack Lawrence added lyrics with Coates' approval; the resulting song...
old boathouse, accessed 21 April 2017 EricCoates Remembered. Blue Plaque Citation by local council. "EricCoates in Sussex", transcript Archived 13 August...
the 1955 British war film The Dam Busters. The musical composition, by EricCoates, has become synonymous with both the film and the real Operation Chastise...
ISBN 0080539386. Coates, Eric (2015). "Oscillators Module 1 - Oscillator Basics". Learn About Electronics. EricCoates. Retrieved August 7, 2015. Coates, Eric (2015)...
producer Frederic Piffard selected "By the Sleepy Lagoon", composed by EricCoates (who appeared on the show in 1951). The tune has been used since the...
apartment, and Arnold Bennett, who died at the Court in 1931. The composer EricCoates lived in the block between 1930 and 1936, and the cartoonist David Low...
"Halcyon Days", the first movement of the suite The Three Elizabeths by EricCoates "Halcyon Days", by ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead from...
the recitation The Selfish Giant in 1911. English light music composer EricCoates wrote the orchestral Phantasy The Selfish Giant in 1925. In 1933–1934...
"The Dam Busters March", the theme to the 1955 film by British composer EricCoates The Dam Busters (video game), a 1984 video game loosely based on Operation...
and the music also appears in the final movement of English composer EricCoates' suite The Three Men. "Three Blind Mice" was used as a theme song for...
Eric David Harris (April 9, 1981 – April 20, 1999) and Dylan Bennet Klebold (/ˈkliːboʊld/ KLEE-bohld; September 11, 1981 – April 20, 1999) were American...
solo for the alto saxophone in his orchestral suite Concerto in Pieces. EricCoates wrote for an alto in his 1936 Saxo-Rhapsody. Claude Debussy features...
painter and poet; worked at a studio in Belmont Street from 1875 to 1876. EricCoates (1886–1957), composer of marches and rhapsodies including The Knightsbridge...
Carroll Coates (recorded by Frank Sinatra) "London Bye Ta-Ta" by David Bowie "London Cafe Blues" by King Oliver "London Calling" by EricCoates "London...
scriptwriter, actress and singer. In the 1920s she wrote the lyrics for some of EricCoates' compositions. In 1926 she published her first book Lavender Ladies A...
Tannoy speakers. From October 1940 a theme tune, Calling All Workers by EricCoates, was adopted to begin and end each episode, arranged by the performers...
fallen down, and moved to Arizona, now I know why." English composer EricCoates wrote a march about London Bridge in 1934. London Bridge is named in...
1st Baron Sydenham of Combe, English colonial administrator and writer EricCoates, English composer of light music Leslie Compton, English footballer and...
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