Memorial of Sir Arthur Seymour Sullivan

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This is a tribute to Sir Arthur Seymour Sullivan (May 13, 1842 – November 22, 1900), an English composer renowned for his collaborative work with dramatist W.S. Gilbert on fourteen operas, including H.M.S. Pinafore, The Pirates of Penzance, and The Mikado. His extensive repertoire encompasses twenty-four operas, eleven major orchestral works, ten choral compositions, oratorios, two ballets, incidental music for several plays, and numerous church pieces, songs, and chamber music. Notable among his hymns and songs are "Onward, Christian Soldiers" and "The Lost Chord". Born to a military bandmaster, Sullivan composed his first anthem at the age of eight and later became a soloist in the boys' choir of the Chapel Royal. At fourteen, he was awarded the Mendelssohn Scholarship by the Royal Academy of Music, allowing him to study at the academy and subsequently at the Leipzig Conservatoire in Germany. His graduation piece, incidental music for Shakespeare's The Tempest (1861), received critical acclaim on its first performance in London. Among his early notable works were a ballet, L'Île Enchantée (1864), a symphony, a cello concerto (both 1866), and his Overture di Ballo (1870). To supplement the income from his concert works, he composed hymns, parlour ballads, and other light pieces while working as a church organist and music teacher. A bronze bust on a pillar features lines from The Yeoman of the Guard: "Is life a boon? If so it must befall / That death whene'er he calls / Must call too soon," penned by W.S. Gilbert. Against the pillar, an allegorical female figure reclines, representing grief-stricken music. Surrounding the base are musical instruments, a music score, and the mask of comedy.