June Gordon, Marchioness of Aberdeen and Temair
Encyclopedia
June Gordon, Marchioness of Aberdeen and Temair, CBE
, DL
, FRCM
, FRSAMD
, FRSE
(29 December 1913 - 22 June 2009) known as Lady Aberdeen, was a professional musician and patron
of the Aberdeen International Youth Festival
and founder and Musical Director of Haddo House Choral & Operatic Society.
Trained as a pianist and conductor, she married David Gordon, 4th Marquess of Aberdeen and Temair
and lived at Haddo House
, Ellon
, Aberdeenshire
, home of the Gordon family.
, at Harrow School
where her father, Arthur Boissier, was Headmaster and David was a pupil. They married on 29 April 1939. They adopted four children who were, until 2004, not entitled either to have courtesy titles or for the elder son to inherit the peerage:
Until 2004 adopted children of peers had no right to any courtesy title. However as a result of a Royal Warrant dated 30 April 2004 adopted children are now automatically entitled to such styles and courtesy titles as their siblings. However, as with illegitimate children where legitimated, such children have no rights to inheritance of peerages. [Note - Scottish peerages rules of descent differ.]
They founded the Haddo House Choral and Operatic Society in 1945 in order to give additional cultural opportunities to the residents of Aberdeenshire
. Haddo House
, is an elegant Adams designed house, surrounded by gardens, park and lake with abundant Scottish wildlife and boasts a wooden built theatre (Haddo House Hall) which was originally built as a tennis court but is now a fully operarional theatre and concert hall. The Haddo estate is a uniquely beautiful and peaceful setting for concerts, operas and other shows.
Situated 20 miles north of Aberdeen
, the House is now administered by the National Trust for Scotland
.
Known professionally as June Gordon, a graduate of the Royal College of Music
, Lady Aberdeen was a pianist and conductor by training and she developed Haddo's musical programme with great enterprise. The first recorded concert was a Christmas Carol service in Haddo House Chapel in 1945, which still occurs annually. Under June’s baton the society widened its repertoire developing a tradition for presenting major British works – both Operas and concerts. She started with directing Handel's 'Messiah'
with soloist Elsie Suddaby
in 1947 and other highlights have included 1950's Bach's 'St Matthew Passion' with oboist Leon Goosens in a solo role and major choral works by Elgar, Delius
, Tippett
, Vaughan Williams and Howells and many operas which require chorus.
A succession of internationally renowned artists have helped make this North East Scotland
venue a lively stage for the very best in choral, operatic and drama productions: Dame Janet Baker
was asked to perform there immediately on graduating from the Royal College of Music because Lady Aberdeen thought her 'promising' and Glasgow-born Rosalind Sutherland first performed Desdemona in Verdi's 'Otello' at Haddo in 1996; returned as Micaela in 'Carmen
' in 1997 before finding fame taking the title role in 'Madame Butterfly' at San Francisco Opera House.
Judith Lovat, now with the Philadelphia Opera, gained early experience at Haddo. Other eminent musicians to appear have included: Benjamin Britten
, Ralph Vaughan Williams
, Willard White
, Sarah Walker, Neil Mackie
, Patricia MacMahon and Lisa Milne to name but a few. In recent years there has been a strong international flavour with visiting performers from France, Finland
, Denmark
, Germany and America
.
For many years a Summer Play was also produced, using the renowned Globe Stage in the Hall for Shakespeare one year and presenting another playwright's work the next, but this has recently been discontinued. As a young man Prince Edward
appeared several times in these productions.
Many young people who have grown up in the area have performed at Haddo and have gone on to study music and the performing arts at tertiary level. Students from the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama
take part in the opera every year, gaining invaluable experience in the orchestra, chorus and/or taking small singing roles.
The Society is now 65 years old and presents an annual programme of opera, oratorio and carols.
Professional pianist and singing teacher Alice E Dennis GTCL trains the chorus.
HHCOS prides itself on its high standard of performance, achieved by the local community working alongside the professional artists brought in for producing and designing the opera, for the major solo roles and for playing in the orchestra for the opera and concerts alike.
The facilities at Haddo comprise a purpose built rehearsal room, known as the 'Peatyards' and the historic and beautiful timber-built wooden theatre known as 'Haddo House Hall' for performances. The Choral Society also uses the tiny and picturesque Chapel, attached to the side of the main House for their popular carol concerts. These venues are a delight for both artists and their audiences.
The umbrella organisation at Haddo house; the ‘Haddo User Group’ involves over 200 members of all ages and backgrounds. Gifted amateurs of all ages take part in the wide range of productions including the full scale Opera, large Choral Concert and Carol Concerts. There are also musical shows from Haddo Youth Music Theatre and the Haddo Children's Theatre and youth concerts involving the two award winning Haddo Youth and Children's Choirs. This unique blend makes Haddo the ultimate community arts centre and ultimately its success is down to the vision of founder Lady Aberdeen.
Lady Aberdeen was a Patron of leading Scottish learning disabilities charity Cornerstone Community Care
, and Chairman of the North East of Scotland Music School
.
She received the MBE in 1971 and CBE in 1989.
A sculpture of June Gordon, Marchioness of Aberdeen and Temair was commissioned from Laurence Broderick
.
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
, DL
Deputy Lieutenant
In the United Kingdom, a Deputy Lieutenant is one of several deputies to the Lord Lieutenant of a lieutenancy area; an English ceremonial county, Welsh preserved county, Scottish lieutenancy area, or Northern Irish county borough or county....
, FRCM
Royal College of Music
The Royal College of Music is a conservatoire founded by Royal Charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, England.-Background:The first director was Sir George Grove and he was followed by Sir Hubert Parry...
, FRSAMD
Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama
The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland is a conservatoire of music, drama, and dance in the centre of Glasgow, Scotland. Founded in 1845 as the Glasgow Educational Association, it is the busiest performing arts venue in Scotland...
, FRSE
Royal Society of Edinburgh
The Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity, operating on a wholly independent and non-party-political basis and providing public benefit throughout Scotland...
(29 December 1913 - 22 June 2009) known as Lady Aberdeen, was a professional musician and patron
Patrón
Patrón is a luxury brand of tequila produced in Mexico and sold in hand-blown, individually numbered bottles.Made entirely from Blue Agave "piñas" , Patrón comes in five varieties: Silver, Añejo, Reposado, Gran Patrón Platinum and Gran Patrón Burdeos. Patrón also sells a tequila-coffee blend known...
of the Aberdeen International Youth Festival
Aberdeen International Youth Festival
Aberdeen International Youth Festival is a leading Festival of Youth Arts, and one of Scotland's major international cultural events.Every year Aberdeen International Youth Festival attracts over 1000 of the most talented young people in performing arts companies and music groups from across the...
and founder and Musical Director of Haddo House Choral & Operatic Society.
Trained as a pianist and conductor, she married David Gordon, 4th Marquess of Aberdeen and Temair
David Gordon, 4th Marquess of Aberdeen and Temair
Major David George Ian Alexander Gordon, 4th Marquess of Aberdeen and Temair, CBE, K.StJ was a British peer, soldier, and the son of Dudley Gordon, 3rd Marquess of Aberdeen and Temair.-Life:...
and lived at Haddo House
Haddo House
Haddo House is a Scottish stately home located near Tarves in Aberdeenshire, approximately 20 miles north of Aberdeen . It has been owned by the National Trust for Scotland since 1979....
, Ellon
Ellon, Aberdeenshire
Ellon is a town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, approximately north of Aberdeen, lying on the River Ythan which has one of the few undeveloped river estuaries on the Eastern coast of Scotland. It is in the ancient region of Formartine...
, Aberdeenshire
Aberdeenshire
Aberdeenshire is one of the 32 unitary council areas in Scotland and a lieutenancy area.The present day Aberdeenshire council area does not include the City of Aberdeen, now a separate council area, from which its name derives. Together, the modern council area and the city formed historic...
, home of the Gordon family.
Biography
Beatrice Mary June Boissier was born in 1913 on the Isle of Wight, and died in June 2009 aged 95. She met her husband, David GordonDavid Gordon
David Gordon is an American author and trainer and early contributor to the development of Neuro-Linguistic Programming.Gordon has helped create and shape the field of NLP since some decades yet. Gordon's main areas of contribution have been the use of therapeutic metaphors, inspired by his work...
, at Harrow School
Harrow School
Harrow School, commonly known simply as "Harrow", is an English independent school for boys situated in the town of Harrow, in north-west London.. The school is of worldwide renown. There is some evidence that there has been a school on the site since 1243 but the Harrow School we know today was...
where her father, Arthur Boissier, was Headmaster and David was a pupil. They married on 29 April 1939. They adopted four children who were, until 2004, not entitled either to have courtesy titles or for the elder son to inherit the peerage:
- Mary Katherine Gordon (b. 30 May 1946), married Simon Piers Welfare and had issue.
- Sarah Caroline Gordon (b. 25 March 1948), married P.Scott and had issue; then remarried Eric N Money with one son.
- Andrew David Gordon (b. 6 March 1950), married Lucy Mary Frances Milligan and had issue.
- James Drummond Gordon (b. 11 April 1953), married Marilyn Sim.
Until 2004 adopted children of peers had no right to any courtesy title. However as a result of a Royal Warrant dated 30 April 2004 adopted children are now automatically entitled to such styles and courtesy titles as their siblings. However, as with illegitimate children where legitimated, such children have no rights to inheritance of peerages. [Note - Scottish peerages rules of descent differ.]
They founded the Haddo House Choral and Operatic Society in 1945 in order to give additional cultural opportunities to the residents of Aberdeenshire
Aberdeenshire
Aberdeenshire is one of the 32 unitary council areas in Scotland and a lieutenancy area.The present day Aberdeenshire council area does not include the City of Aberdeen, now a separate council area, from which its name derives. Together, the modern council area and the city formed historic...
. Haddo House
Haddo House
Haddo House is a Scottish stately home located near Tarves in Aberdeenshire, approximately 20 miles north of Aberdeen . It has been owned by the National Trust for Scotland since 1979....
, is an elegant Adams designed house, surrounded by gardens, park and lake with abundant Scottish wildlife and boasts a wooden built theatre (Haddo House Hall) which was originally built as a tennis court but is now a fully operarional theatre and concert hall. The Haddo estate is a uniquely beautiful and peaceful setting for concerts, operas and other shows.
Situated 20 miles north of Aberdeen
Aberdeen
Aberdeen is Scotland's third most populous city, one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas and the United Kingdom's 25th most populous city, with an official population estimate of ....
, the House is now administered by the National Trust for Scotland
National Trust for Scotland
The National Trust for Scotland for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, commonly known as the National Trust for Scotland describes itself as the conservation charity that protects and promotes Scotland's natural and cultural heritage for present and future generations to...
.
Known professionally as June Gordon, a graduate of the Royal College of Music
Royal College of Music
The Royal College of Music is a conservatoire founded by Royal Charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, England.-Background:The first director was Sir George Grove and he was followed by Sir Hubert Parry...
, Lady Aberdeen was a pianist and conductor by training and she developed Haddo's musical programme with great enterprise. The first recorded concert was a Christmas Carol service in Haddo House Chapel in 1945, which still occurs annually. Under June’s baton the society widened its repertoire developing a tradition for presenting major British works – both Operas and concerts. She started with directing Handel's 'Messiah'
Messiah (Handel)
Messiah is an English-language oratorio composed in 1741 by George Frideric Handel, with a scriptural text compiled by Charles Jennens from the King James Bible and the Book of Common Prayer. It was first performed in Dublin on 13 April 1742, and received its London premiere nearly a year later...
with soloist Elsie Suddaby
Elsie Suddaby
Elsie Suddaby was a leading British lyric soprano of the years between World War I and World War II. She was born in Leeds.A pupil of Sir Edward Bairstow, she was known as ‘The Lass With The Delicate Air’ .She was principal soprano in the bicentennial St Matthew Passion Elsie Suddaby (1893 -...
in 1947 and other highlights have included 1950's Bach's 'St Matthew Passion' with oboist Leon Goosens in a solo role and major choral works by Elgar, Delius
Delius
Delius is a surname. It may refer to:* Ernst von Delius - German racing car driver* Frederick Delius - English composer* Nicolaus Delius - German philologist* Tobias Delius Delius is a surname. It may refer to:* Ernst von Delius (1912–1937) - German racing car driver* Frederick Delius...
, Tippett
Michael Tippett
Sir Michael Kemp Tippett OM CH CBE was an English composer.In his long career he produced a large body of work, including five operas, three large-scale choral works, four symphonies, five string quartets, four piano sonatas, concertos and concertante works, song cycles and incidental music...
, Vaughan Williams and Howells and many operas which require chorus.
A succession of internationally renowned artists have helped make this North East Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
venue a lively stage for the very best in choral, operatic and drama productions: Dame Janet Baker
Janet Baker
Dame Janet Abbott Baker, CH, DBE, FRSA is an English mezzo-soprano best known as an opera, concert, and lieder singer.She was particularly closely associated with baroque and early Italian opera and the works of Benjamin Britten...
was asked to perform there immediately on graduating from the Royal College of Music because Lady Aberdeen thought her 'promising' and Glasgow-born Rosalind Sutherland first performed Desdemona in Verdi's 'Otello' at Haddo in 1996; returned as Micaela in 'Carmen
Carmen
Carmen is a French opéra comique by Georges Bizet. The libretto is by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée, first published in 1845, itself possibly influenced by the narrative poem The Gypsies by Alexander Pushkin...
' in 1997 before finding fame taking the title role in 'Madame Butterfly' at San Francisco Opera House.
Judith Lovat, now with the Philadelphia Opera, gained early experience at Haddo. Other eminent musicians to appear have included: Benjamin Britten
Benjamin Britten
Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten, OM CH was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He showed talent from an early age, and first came to public attention with the a cappella choral work A Boy Was Born in 1934. With the premiere of his opera Peter Grimes in 1945, he leapt to...
, Ralph Vaughan Williams
Ralph Vaughan Williams
Ralph Vaughan Williams OM was an English composer of symphonies, chamber music, opera, choral music, and film scores. He was also a collector of English folk music and song: this activity both influenced his editorial approach to the English Hymnal, beginning in 1904, in which he included many...
, Willard White
Willard White
Sir Willard Wentworth White, OM, CBE is a Jamaican-born British bass-baritone.-Early life:He was born into a poor but supportive Jamaican family in Kingston. His father was a dockworker, his mother a housewife. White first began to learn music by listening to the radio and singing Nat King Cole...
, Sarah Walker, Neil Mackie
Neil Mackie
Neil Mackie CBE, CStJ, FRSE, FRCM, FRSAMD is a Scottish classical tenor and Professor at the Royal Academy of Music. During his 30 year international career as a singer, he was closely associated with the works of 20th century composers, particularly Benjamin Britten, and Peter Maxwell Davies...
, Patricia MacMahon and Lisa Milne to name but a few. In recent years there has been a strong international flavour with visiting performers from France, Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
, Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
, Germany and America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
For many years a Summer Play was also produced, using the renowned Globe Stage in the Hall for Shakespeare one year and presenting another playwright's work the next, but this has recently been discontinued. As a young man Prince Edward
Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex
Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex KG GCVO is the third son and fourth child of Elizabeth II and The Duke of Edinburgh...
appeared several times in these productions.
Many young people who have grown up in the area have performed at Haddo and have gone on to study music and the performing arts at tertiary level. Students from the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama
Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama
The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland is a conservatoire of music, drama, and dance in the centre of Glasgow, Scotland. Founded in 1845 as the Glasgow Educational Association, it is the busiest performing arts venue in Scotland...
take part in the opera every year, gaining invaluable experience in the orchestra, chorus and/or taking small singing roles.
The Society is now 65 years old and presents an annual programme of opera, oratorio and carols.
Professional pianist and singing teacher Alice E Dennis GTCL trains the chorus.
HHCOS prides itself on its high standard of performance, achieved by the local community working alongside the professional artists brought in for producing and designing the opera, for the major solo roles and for playing in the orchestra for the opera and concerts alike.
The facilities at Haddo comprise a purpose built rehearsal room, known as the 'Peatyards' and the historic and beautiful timber-built wooden theatre known as 'Haddo House Hall' for performances. The Choral Society also uses the tiny and picturesque Chapel, attached to the side of the main House for their popular carol concerts. These venues are a delight for both artists and their audiences.
The umbrella organisation at Haddo house; the ‘Haddo User Group’ involves over 200 members of all ages and backgrounds. Gifted amateurs of all ages take part in the wide range of productions including the full scale Opera, large Choral Concert and Carol Concerts. There are also musical shows from Haddo Youth Music Theatre and the Haddo Children's Theatre and youth concerts involving the two award winning Haddo Youth and Children's Choirs. This unique blend makes Haddo the ultimate community arts centre and ultimately its success is down to the vision of founder Lady Aberdeen.
Lady Aberdeen was a Patron of leading Scottish learning disabilities charity Cornerstone Community Care
Cornerstone Community Care
Cornerstone Community Care, more commonly known simply as Cornerstone, is a Scottish charity and social enterprise that provides support and care for adults and children with disabilities and other special needs...
, and Chairman of the North East of Scotland Music School
North East of Scotland Music School
The North East of Scotland Music School is an independent charitable foundation established in Aberdeen, Scotland by the late Dorothy Hately MBE in 1975 with the encouragement of...
.
She received the MBE in 1971 and CBE in 1989.
A sculpture of June Gordon, Marchioness of Aberdeen and Temair was commissioned from Laurence Broderick
Laurence Broderick
Laurence Broderick, ARBS, FRSA, is a British sculptor. His best known work is The Bull, a public sculpture in Birmingham, erected in 2003. His work consists largely of direct carvings in stone and editions in bronze, mostly figurative, wildlife and the female form...
.