Edward Francis Fitzwilliam

Edward Francis Fitzwilliam (1824 – 20 January 1857) was an English composer and music director. Fitzwilliam, born at Deal, Kent on 2 August 1824, was the son of Edward Fitzwilliam, an actor, by his wife, Fanny Elizabeth Fitzwilliam, actress. Education He was educated at the Pimlico Grammar School, at St. Edmund's College, Old Hall, Hertfordshire, and at the institution of L'Abbé Haffrénique at Boulogne. Sir Henry Bishop was his instructor in an elementary course of harmony, and for a few months he resided with John Barnett at Cheltenham studying instrumentation. Career In his twenty-first year he composed a Stabat Mater, which was performed at the Hanover Square Rooms on 15 March 1845, with much success. In October 1847 he was appointed by Madame Vestris musical director of the Lyceum Theatre, and remained there for two years.