The death of former music teacher Hugh Turpin (M 83-13) has affected many people, and some of the tributes we have received follow.

Robert Cussons (SH 91-98) writes:

“I was very sorry to hear of Hugh Turpin's death. Along with Tony Winzor, Hugh was the one of the most influential, gifted and engaging teachers I had the pleasure to be taught by at St Bees. He directed and conducted the choir in performing complex and challenging pieces to a very high standard. I remember when I was studying for my grade five violin and he was accompanying me on the piano, after a few minutes he asked me for the violin and sight-read the piece I'd been struggling with, perfectly. When I remarked that I didn't know he played violin, he said that was probably because he hadn't picked one up in about a decade! I also remember his amazing vocal range, as he sang all four parts from bass to soprano at different points in rehearsals with the choir. One abiding memory is singing the full complement of the eight daily monastic offices that would have been sung by the monks of St Bees centuries ago (https://stbees.org.uk/home/village/priory/monastic-services/). He organised this along with Anthony Payne and we all slept in the Priory hall in between services. On another occasion we went on a choir tour to a number of towns in Germany including the beautiful Wiesbaden, again organised by Anthony Payne with Hugh directing the choir (and the bus driver had to stop so he could have regular cigarette breaks!). I remember missing a trip out to go go-karting one weekend due to a service over-running; when he heard of my predicament, he told me to jump in his car (which was an old but still rather flashy Porsche 924 from memory), and we raced along the lanes around St Bees to catch the minibus, which we didn't manage, but I got two stints of racing that day, one in his car and then later at the go-karting!

He was a phenomenal musician, great fun and inspiring as a music teacher, singing teacher and choir director and always happy to discuss physics and engineering, which was another part of his multifaceted background. He will be very sorely missed by many, I am sure.”

 

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