George W. Byng

Who was George W. Byng?

George Wilford Buckley Byng was an English conductor, composer, music arranger and musical director of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He is known for composing music for ballet productions staged at the Alhambra Theatre in London during the Edwardian era, for his theatre compositions and as a conductor for HMV from World War I up to about 1930.

As a child, he received a musical education and at age 11 joined the orchestra at the Theatre Royal, Dublin. He played in orchestras throughout Britain for two decades before beginning a conducting career. By the 1890s, his compositions of incidental music for plays were used in London theatres. From 1898 to 1913, as the musical director of London's Alhambra Theatre, he composed, arranged and conducted the music for approximately 30 ballets and scenas. During this period, he continued to compose new music, including theatre scores, for other companies. For two years thereafter, he was the musical conductor at the Gaiety Theatre, London.

After conducting for Thomas Edison's British recording studio for several years, in 1915 Byng joined HMV full-time, where he conducted a great number of recordings.