A pupil of Henry Farmer, Edward Bairstow was then articled to Frederick Bridge at Westminster Abbey. In 1899 he became organist at the parish church in Wigan, moving from there to Leeds and in 1913 to York Minster, retaining this last position until his death in 1946. At the same time he served, from 1929, as Professor of Music at Durham University. He enjoyed a considerable reputation as a choral conductor in the north of England and as a teacher. He was knighted in 1932 and left a quantity of church music that remains part of standard cathedral choral repertoire.
