My associate, Claire Seymour, who has died unexpectedly aged 53, introduced a passionate depth, precision and perfectionism to her work as an educator, reviewer and musician.
Born in London, Claire grew up in Broadstairs, Kent, the place her mother and father, Richard and Barbara, owned a comfort retailer. She attended Clarendon Home grammar college for women in Ramsgate.
The connection between phrases and music was on the coronary heart of Claire’s mental life. After graduating from King’s School, Cambridge, in music in 1991, she pursued postgraduate research in English on the College of Kent, incomes an MA in fashionable literature adopted by a doctorate. Her revealed thesis, The Operas of Benjamin Britten: Expression and Evasion (2004), the primary guide to analyse all the operas, stays on college studying lists immediately.
In 1999-2000, Claire was the primary lady appointed visiting lecturer in British research on the College of Tokyo. Following this she launched into a 15-year college instructing profession, initially at Dover school, the place she and I met, after which at Queen’s school, London. As head of sixth type she mentored college students via college purposes and excelled as an in depth, meticulous and punctual administrator.
Alongside her college instructing, Claire tutored on the postgraduate opera research course at Rose Bruford School, taught on Open College summer season faculties for music, and edited The Thomas Hardy Society Journals (2005-08). Her scholarly contributions included modifying Wordsworth editions of Hardy and Henry James, and he or she featured in dialogue on the DVD of Polanski’s Tess.
In 2017, whereas persevering with as an examiner in English with the IB, CIE and AQA boards, she grew to become a full-time affiliate lecturer with the OU. Recognised as a gifted and devoted tutor in literature and music, she made a significant contribution in securing the excessive ranking of the division’s 2021 Analysis Excellence Framework submission, subsequently turning into an honorary affiliate. Claire additionally discovered nice satisfaction in supporting prisoners to enhance their lives via OU research.
Her passions prolonged to reviewing classical music and theatre. In 2012, she grew to become British editor for Opera In the present day, and contributed to different publications, together with Opera journal, subscribed to since her teenage years. Her prolific writing led a radio govt to take a position {that a} syndicate have to be working underneath her identify. She wrote programme articles for Glyndebourne and Wexford; edited for Plumbago’s Defining Opera collection; contributed chapters for essay collections on Britten and Hardy; and appeared on BBC Radio 3’s Music Issues.
For leisure, Claire was a semi-professional violinist. She performed with Oare String Orchestra for 28 years, was a member of Kent Live performance Orchestra and the Peycelon Quartet and infrequently accompanied choral societies. She carried out with the Lambeth Orchestra at their fortieth anniversary live performance on the Queen Elizabeth Corridor, London, and cherished enjoying with them at Britten’s Snape Maltings in Suffolk.
Personally modest, Claire joyously celebrated literature and music; her devoted instructing impressed others to share her ardour.
She is survived by her mother and father and her brother Daniel.
