Lawrence Wallington (1957-2026)
Lawrence Wallington, who has died at the age of 68, was a distinguished bass-baritone who for nearly 40 years served in Westminster Abbey Choir and in the Monteverdi Choir as well as enjoying a freelance career in opera and concert work. In addition, he was a lecturer and music tour guide, a Governor of The Royal Society of Musicians and gave his time liberally to voluntary causes.
Born in 1957 in Hamburg, Germany in an army hospital where his father was serving as Padre, Lawrence was educated at Charterhouse School under Bill Llewellyn and Magdalen College Oxford where he read Modern Languages and sang in the College’s renowned choir under the direction of Bernard Rose (Informator Choristarum from 1957 - 1981). Fellow-student Harry Christophers writes: “Bernard Rose was always kind to new Academical Clerks so he would let them settle in for a term or so before he gave them major solos to sing - that's why I ended up having to sing loads of baritone solos in Lawrence’s first term - quite frankly he would have sung them a damn sight better than me!”.
Deciding to pursue music and singing as a career, he studied with Warren Greene and Erich Vietheer then in 1978 as a postgraduate student at the Royal Academy of Music with Joy Mammon and Audrey Langford. While at the RAM, he sang Theseus in Britten’s A midsummer Night’s Dream and Sarastro in Mozart’s The Magic Flute. In 1980, he won the Grimsby International Song Competition which opened up many opportunities as a solo singer in oratorio. Engagements included The Dream of Gerontious, Handel’s Messiah, Rossini’s Petite Messe Solennelle and Stabat Mater, Mozart’s Requiem, Haydn’s Creation and The Seasons, Mendelssohn’s Elijah, The Kingdom and The Apostles, Vaughan Williams Serenade to music and Dona Nobis Pacem and Britten’s Rejoice in the Lamb.
While still a student at the RAM, on a tip-off from a friend who had seen the post advertised in the Times, Lawrence auditioned for Bass Lay Vicar in the choir of Westminster Abbey. A natural ensemble singer and team player, Lawrence was successfully appointed and served for 42 years in the choir under the direction of Simon Preston, Martin Neary and James O’Donnell. He sang in many memorable services and state occasions at the Abbey including Lord Mountbatten’s funeral in 1979 (his first service!), Princess Diana’s funeral in 1997, The Queen Mother’s funeral in 2002, Diamond Wedding anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip in 2007 and Prince William & Kate Middleton’s wedding 2011.
Lawrence combined his work at Westminster Abbey with singing over four decades in the Monteverdi Choir under Sir John Eliot Gardiner, performing concerts, undertaking tours, broadcasting and recording extensively. He is featured on many of the choir’s recordings, singing notable solos in Bach, Buxtehude and Carissimi among other composers. Highlights included the productions of Rameau’s Les Boréades and Hippolyte et Aricie in Aix-en-Provence in 1982/3, two performances and a live recording of the Monteverdi Vespers in St Mark’s Basilica, Venice in 1989 and marking the 25th anniversary of the Monteverdi Choir, a performance, live telecast and recording of Mozart’s C Minor Mass and Requiem in the Palau de la Musica, Barcelona in 1991, the Monteverdi Choir World Tour in 1989, the Bach Cantata Pilgrimage in 2000 and the Santiago Pilgrimage in 2004.
As the years went by, Lawrence became seen as a father figure in the choir and mentored the Monteverdi Apprentices whilst also taking the role of ‘choir rep’ for the organisation. His positive and joyous personality saw him constantly supporting colleagues, seeking out the best places to eat on tour and advising in moments of stress. He was always the ‘social glue’ in groups making the atmosphere feel cheerful and light, especially for younger people, putting them at their ease and making them feel welcome. His diplomatic skills were legendary exemplified on one occasion when an entire tour of the Monteverdi Choir and Orchestra was thrown in jeopardy by the Brussels bombing but went ahead thanks to Lawrence’s calm and friendly off-the-cuff speech in a hotel room to the entire orchestra and choir.
In later years, Lawrence developed other elements to his life and career. From 2019, he started to work for Martin Randall Travel firstly as a singer in Sicily then after the lockdowns from 2021 as a tour manager taking him to many cities across Europe. His extensive knowledge of music together with his language skills ideally suited him to this work which covered a wide range of music and opera.
Lawrence also put much energy and commitment into voluntary work for a number of organisations. He joined The Royal Society of Musicians in 1984, joined its Court of Assistants in 2003 and eventually became a Governor in 2022, serving as Chair of the Fine Instruments Scheme sub-committee. One of his last concerts was at the John Birch Memorial Concert in St George’s, Hanover Square in November 2025, which he did much to organise, facilitate and conduct.
In addition, and ever resourceful, Lawrence used the period of lockdown to make a contribution by delivering groceries for a local church on his bicycle and in all weathers to those in need. He also volunteered for Street Trees for Living, going door-to-door and working tirelessly and often in the face of fierce resistance, canvassing for the planting of trees around the South Circular to improve quality of life.
Lawrence married the soprano Susan Bullock in 1985, a marriage that was dissolved in 2008. He met pianist and singer Eleanor Meynell in 2009 dancing on stage during a production of Carmen at the Opera Comique, Paris where he fell in love with her gypsy-style! After being friends for 6 years, they eventually married in 2015. Together they held regular soirées at their home to raise money for St Christopher's Hospice which were highly convivial and sometimes went on into the small hours. Together they formed the opera quartet Opera That’s Nice! for garden parties allowing for a late flowering of operatic repertoire where he excelled in all genres (including a particularly fine Policeman’s Lot with audience participation, hat and truncheon) and latterly enjoying singing Wagner.
Lawrence was a person of independent spirit and resourcefulness. As a boy, he once ran away from home to attend a performance at the Proms, as a teenager he busked with his flute on the Paris metro to pay for one early trip to France and played Pink Floyd recordings out of a speaker in the bell-tower of his clergyman father’s church. He was a keen cyclist and would regularly cycle into London to work. A kind and helpful person, he was constantly supporting others at home and away on tour.
But above all, he was a musician who loved what he did. Devoted to the music of Bach he listened with his wife, Eleanor, to the Monteverdi Choir’s recording of the B Minor Mass, which they both took part in, the night before he died, surely demonstrating that he understood deeply what was important in life.
Lawrence Wallington
Bass-Baritone
30 June 1957 – 11 January 2026
July 10th Westminster Abbey special evensong/service - open to all. Details tbc