Peter Yorke was born on December 4th 1902 to a printer and his wife in North London. He showed musical ability as soon as he was able to.walk, and progressed swiftly through his piano lessons. However, as soon as he heard the organ in his local Church, he wanted to become an organist. The organ for him was more than a piano; one could paint pictures with it. It was in effect a small orchestra of tonal sounds. Peter became a Fellow of the Royal College of Organists, and organist and choirmaster of the church when he was eighteen, but he was already being seduced by the new danceband sounds of the 1920s. So Peter returned to his piano stool to practise syncopation and dance tempo. His technique as an arranger was unique. When arranging a song he never loses the melody and seldom alters the composer’s basic harmonies. In 1947 he received work with Columbia Records backing vocalists such as Steve Conway, and using the pool musicians to form a large 30 to 40 piece concert orchestra known as Peter Yorke and his Concert Orchestra. This coupled with a regular BBC series called “Sweet Serenade” using the Orchestra every Sunday brought him the fame he deserved. Peter then became Musical Director of EMI, accompanying singers such as Donald Peers, and musicians of the calibre of Eddie Calvert. Peter Yorke was the greatest arranger, orchestrator and conductor of light popular and light classical music that the U.K. has ever produced. He died on February 2nd 1966 at the age of 63.