Stephen Gray

Philip Stephen Gray OBE (11 March 1923 – 30 November 2012) was an English musical administrator, who managed the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra for 23 years.

Career

In 1950, together with David Cairns, Gray established the Chelsea Opera Group. This was an organisation that produced concert performances of operas rather than staged productions because they were less expensive for the audiences. For their first performance they persuaded Colin Davis, at the time a 22-year-old clarinetist, to conduct a concert performance of Mozart’s Don Giovanni in the Holywell Music Room, Oxford. Gray played in the orchestra, and Cairns sang the role of Leporello. Following his retirement, Gray remained active, helping to the rescue the Bluecoat Society of Arts, who were based in the Bluecoat Chambers in Liverpool, from closure.

Personal life

Stephen Gray was born in Guildford, Surrey, England, and was the son of an Anglican clergyman. He was educated at Rugby School, where he took an active part in the school orchestra. After leaving school he worked at Bletchley Park, but he never disclosed what he did there. He studied classics at Trinity College, Oxford, then joined the Bank of England as a trainee. Gray married Frances, a member of the chorus of the Chelsea Opera Group, in 1953. Together they had a son and a daughter. Gray was appointed OBE in 1987.