Vernon Elliot

Vernon Elliot (1912 - 1996) was a British bassoon, conductor and composer. Born into a music family in 1912, Elliot took up the bassoon at a very early age. From then on he had an eventful, busy and very musical life, one which saw him as a founder member of the Philharmonia Orchestra, a regular player at the Royal Opera House, a much-valued member of Britten's English Opera Group orchestra, a conductor of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, a music teacher and occasional writer. In the 1960s he was asked to help Oliver Postgate by writing a bassoon theme for Ivor the Engine. He went on to compose the highly evocative music to the Smallfilms productions of Noggin the Nog, The Seal of Neptune, Pogles' Wood, Pingwings and Clangers. A compilation album of his work for Clangers was released in 2001 and an album of his music for Ivor the Engine and Pogles' Wood is out in the shops now. Elliott was a keen sailor, skier and bee-keeper.