As leader of the Scottish Orchestra and Professor of Violin at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music, Horace Fellowes was privileged to know all the key figures in the music of his day.

 

Fellowes was a well known musician in Glasgow, and captured all the stories from his eventful career in his 1958 autobiography titled “Music in my Heart” of which Cronies have a 1st edition of.

 

As a child, Horace fell under the spell of his father’s violin and started receiving tuition at home under John Daly of the Athenaeum before joining the Cologne Conservatorium to study under Professor Willy Hess

As a child, Horace fell under the spell of his father’s violin and started receiving tuition at home under John Daly of the Athenaeum before joining the Cologne Conservatorium to study under Professor Willy Hess.

 

The outbreak of the First World War saw Fellowes returned to Glasgow to accept the position of leader of the Scottish Orchestra in 1914. He quickly fell back in love with the city of his childhood and began an association with the Royal Academy of Music that would last for the next 40 years.

 

Unfortunately the impact of the war meant the Scottish Orchestra was disbanded in 1916 and Fellowes was soon called up for military service. Due to his poor eyesight, Fellowes was excused and spent the rest of the war supporting the Choral and Orchestral Unions.

 

Of all Fellowes’ performances his annual recital of the Messiah on New Years Day at St. Andrews Hall caught the public’s imagination the most and was a “not-to-be-missed” event.

 

Fellowes was known to embrace many musical societies in Glasgow including the Palette Club, the Orpheus Club, the Grand Opera Society, and the Society of Musicians (of which he was President in 1922).

 

Fellowes would become good friends with many members of Ye Cronies including fellow honorary member Sir John Barbirolli, former Musical Director Philip Halstead, Cronies President James Chrystal, and regular Cronies performer Elliot Dobie.

 

These associations ultimately saw Fellowes perform for Cronies on a number of occasions, including one impromptu recital at the end of an AMG, and he became an Honorary member in the early 1930s. It’s likely Fellowes played a part in securing artistes for the club in later years through his work for the Council for the Encouragement of Music and the Arts (CEMA) during World War II.