University of Birmingham mourns the passing of John Whenham

John joined the university as a Junior Lecturer in 1971, one of a number of appointments of young and upcoming scholars made by the then Barber Professor, Ivor Keys, and remained on the staff until he retired in 2012, after over 40 years’ service. A calm, unflappable and endlessly patient teacher, personal tutor and mentor of numerous junior colleagues, John touched the lives of hundreds of students, many of whom made their careers in music thanks to his guidance and support. His own research focused on Monteverdi and the early Italian baroque, and he wrote definitive guides to Monteverdi’s opera Orfeo and the Vespers (1986 and 1997 respectively), as well as many articles and critical editions; he remained an active researcher and occasional teacher after his retirement and was also a long-standing co-editor of the renowned journal Music and Letters for many years with his former colleague Nigel Fortune.

As well as undertaking teaching and research, John also founded the Birmingham University Liturgical Choir (later the University Singers) in the mid 1980s in order to give students the experience of singing sacred music in authentic contexts; initially, this performed regularly at St Alban’s, Highgate, but also established, from 1986, a relationship with the parish of St Michael’s, Tenbury Wells, paying an annual visit at the end of each Autumn Term to sing a Carol Service, Eucharist and Evensong, which John directed each year until he retired. This relationship continues and celebrates its fortieth anniversary this year, marked by a specially commissioned carol by the University Singers’ current director, Bob Chilcott.

John became Head of Department in 2001. At this time, music was expanding rapidly in universities across the country, and several of Birmingham’s competitors were investing in new infrastructure to support it. John saw that there was a risk of Birmingham falling behind, despite its excellence in other respects, and pioneered the venture that ultimately became the Bramall Music Building.

Starting from – literally – a blank sheet of paper, John, supported by colleagues past and present, developed the scheme, acting as principal promoter and contact, championing the project within the university, lobbying senior management, Council and external partners, and making innumerable presentations to potential donors, while remaining interested in all the building’s intricate details, from the lift (big enough to hold a Steinway grand piano), to audiovisual equipment in teaching rooms and the colour of the fabric on the seats in the Elgar Concert Hall. It was typical of John’s selfless devotion to this project, and to the Department, that he remained deeply invested in every aspect of it even though he knew he would be unlikely to enjoy it himself and, indeed, his retirement coincided with the Bramall Building’s opening. It remains, arguably, the best facility of its kind in the country (the acoustics of the Elgar were designed by the same team that worked on Symphony Hall) and remains a major factor in attracting students to Birmingham in undeniably leaner times.

Outside the university, John was a devoted family man: both he and his wife-to-be, Jenny, grew up in Melton Mowbray and both played in the Leicestershire Schools’ Symphony Orchestra in the early 1960s (he was a tuba player, she a violinist; Michael Tippett, one of John’s favourite composers, conducted on several occasions). They married in 1968, and remained together for 58 years, until John’s death. Jenny sadly died two weeks after John, on 31 August. They are survived by their two sons, Nick and Chris, daughters-in-law, and grandchildren.

‘Si monumentum requiris, circumspice.’