Michael Hurd

Michael John Hurd (19 December 1928 – 8 August 2006) was a composer, teacher, and author, known for his dramatic cantatas for schools and his choral music. Born in Gloucester and educated at The Crypt School and Pembroke College, Oxford, he studied music under Thomas Armstrong and Bernard Rose. A pupil in composition of Lennox Berkeley, Hurd served National Service before teaching at the Royal Marines Band School at Deal from 1953 to 1959. He then became a freelance composer in East Hampshire, taking a leading role in the local music scene and living in West Liss for the rest of his life.