Mark Lubbock

Mark Hugh Lubbock (17 November 1898 – 10 November 1986) was a British conductor and composer, especially of operetta and light music. Life Lubbock was born in Downe, Kent, the son of Hugh Nevile Lubbock and Margaret Tiarks. His grandfather was the Kent county cricketer Sir Nevile Lubbock, and his cousin was the politician Eric Lubbock, 4th Baron Avebury. He was educated at Eton College, and later in Dresden. He also served in World War I with the Royal Artillery and the Labour Corps. He began his career as a singer in the choruses of several musical comedies, making his conducting debut with theatrical touring companies in 1920, initially with the Shaftesbury Theatre. The earnings from this funded his study period in Dresden, where he also became a répétiteur and assistant conductor to Kurt Striegler. In 1933, he and Harry S. Pepper were recruited by the BBC, both being noted as "established composers of light music". Lubbock was the BBC's Light Music Conductor from 1933 to 1944, replacing Stanford Robinson. On 15 January 1930 he married the writer Bea Howe, author of the group biography A Galaxy of Governesses (1954), regular contributor to Country Life and a close friend of Sylvia Townsend Warner. They lived in Kensington, London and at The Old Forge, Althorne in Essex. Lubbock also had a relationship with the actress Barbara Shotter (sister of Winifred Shotter), with whom he had a daughter.