Born in Sheffield in 1935, he started learning the clarinet at the age of eleven. Attended Ecclesall C of E School on Ringinglow Rd, followed by King Edward VII School from 1946 to 1952, where he was tutored by Norman Barnes. (He returned to KES to distribute prizes at the Speechday in November 1972; see KesMag 1973.)
In 1949, became
a member of the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain, and also started
doing first professional work at the Sheffield Empire Variety Theatre, on alto
saxophone and clarinet.Won a Scholarship to the Royal College of Music in
1952, studying clarinet with Frederick Thurston and Ralph Clarke, and
composition with John Addison.
Served with the Band of the Irish Guards for three years, was bass clarinet of the Scottish National Orchestra, and later a member of the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra. From the 1960’s onwards was a London freelance player, doing most of the saxophone and extra clarinet work with the BBC Symphony Orchestra and many West End Musicals. During the next twenty five years, main playing work consisted of recording sessions for numerous films, TV programmes and records, on all single reed instruments, but particularly bass and contrabass clarinet, mostly with the National Philharmonic Orchestra, a freelance group which specialised in that field.
In 1969, became co-founder and leader of the London Saxophone Quartet, playing soprano saxophone on every performance they gave for the next sixteen years.Also in 1969, appointed Professor of Clarinet at the Royal Military School of Music, Kneller Hall, later taking on the saxophone teaching as well, and retiring as Senior Professor after twenty six years.
Since then, the last ten years have been mainly devoted to composition, private teaching, conducting and international adjudicating, which has included being a member of the international juries for the Concours International Adolphe Sax, in Dinant, Belgium, and the Internationaler Musikwettbewerb der ARD, Bayerischer Rundfunk, in Munich, Germany.Four Italian clarinettists in Ferrara have formed an ensemble called Il Quartetto di Clarinetti Paul Harvey, because they play so much of his music in their concerts.In 2002 the International Clarinet Association, which is based in the USA, presented Paul Harvey with a Lifetime Achievement Award, for Outstanding Performance, Composition, Teaching and Service to the World of Clarinet.At the 2003 ClarinetFest in Salt Lake City, he conducted and narrated in a concert of his own works at the University of Utah, in which Ian Haystedwas the soloist in the World Premiere of Salt Lake Symbiosis, with the Texas Clarinet Consort. At the final concert, in the Mormon Tabernacle, he conducted the 80 strong Conference Clarinet Choir, playing four of his own works.
Paul Harvey’s 70th Birthday Concert took place in June 2005 at the Barn Church in Kew, organised by Ian Haysted and Andrea Morris.Paul played, conducted and narrated many of his own works, supported by Ian Haysted, James Rae, Nigel Hinson, A Good Reed Quartet, (Andrea Morris, Natasha Cuevas, Anna O’Brien and Laura Parker) and many friends, pupils and former pupils. Also in 2005 he was commissioned by Henri Bok to compose a work for Bass Clarinet Choir, to be performed at the first World Bass Clarinet Convention in Rotterdam.This was eventually played, in October of that year, by no less than 149 bass clarinettists from all over the world, conducted by the composer.
Bb clt: Selmer
C85 120
Alto clt.
Vandoren
Bass clt. Selmer
C 85
Contrabass clt.
(Bb) leblanc
Saxes:
Soprano: vintage
Hawkes (very fat) sometimes Selmer Soloist
Alto: Vintage
Selmer table B (fat)
Tenor vintage
Buescher (fat)
Baritone :
vintage round chamber Selmer (so fat I use a metal contrabass clariner
ligature) probably a bass sax lig would fit. I have a Rovner baritone lig, but
use that on my spare Yamaha mouthpiece.
Paul currently lives at 36 Alton Gardens, Twickenham, Middlesex TW2 7PD (paulmharvey*at*btopenworld.com).