King gongs Wigmore Hall
NewsJohn Gilhooly, director of the Wigmore Hall, was made Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) by King Charles at a ceremonial investiture.
He was listed for the honour in the Queen’s last honours but, like so many Wigmore Hall artists, he had to fight for a free date.
John has run the country’s premier chamber music venue since the turn of the century.
photo: PA pool
Richly deserved. Gilhooly became director in 2005, and is a worthy successor to William Lyne, who was director from 1966 to 2003.
There are some wonderful festivals of chamber music and Lieder (Schubertiade, Lockenhaus etc), but – under their guidance – Wigmore Hall became and remains the world’s most prestigious year-round venue for such music. London is fortunate to host such a wonderful organisation.
Bravo John! I’m hoping that your tenure will be at least as long as William’s.
Excellent news and he is also Chairman of the Royal Philharmonic Society.
Everyone connected with Wigmore Hall should be very proud of what they do. John’s leadership, genuine love of music, support for artists and regard for the public is a model that many others in the music biz could follow, if only they had the awareness to do so.
Some inaccuracies here. John’s CBE was awarded last New Year, and there has since been another set of honours for the Queen’s Birthday. And you don’t ‘fight’ to get a date. You get told the date of the Investiture by the Palace. And I should know, as I have just had my own Investiture, also with The King.
Well, King Charles has at last done SOMETHING right.
There was a point during the pandemic (well, certainly in London) when the only concert hall that seemed to be functioning on any level was the Wigmore Hall. Their marvellous online concerts certainly kept my spirits above sea level. All thanks to the persistence, imagination and energy of John Gilhooly. This award is well deserved.
Not so! More concerts where being put on by St Mary’s Perivale in Ealing, West London. Take a look at their 2023 programme!
Richly deserved, as most people here rightly wrote.
Has William Lynne been knighted?
“Man gets CBE for doing job reasonably well providing very good but totally standard music to a monied audience”
John does a huge amount of charity work and his programming is very eclectic. His dedication and sense of duty in all of his activity is notable. Happy Christmas to everybody at Wigmore Hall