Arthur Seymour Sullivan

Sir Arthur Seymour Sullivan (1842–1900) was an English composer and conductor whose work ranged from opera and orchestral music to choral, sacred, and congregational music. Born in London, he grew up in a musical family and became a chorister of the Chapel Royal. In 1856 he won the first Mendelssohn Scholarship at the Royal Academy of Music, which supported further study in London and at the Leipzig Conservatory. His early successes established him as one of the leading British musicians of the Victorian period.

Sullivan is especially remembered for his comic operas with W. S. Gilbert, but his catalog is much broader. It includes major choral works, orchestral pieces, songs, incidental music, church music, anthems, and hymn tunes. His gift for memorable melody and clear vocal writing also served congregational song. Among his hymn tunes is ST. KEVIN, composed in the nineteenth century and later used with a number of texts. Sullivan's sacred and secular output together made him a central figure in British musical life of his era.