My friend Sebastian Farrall, who has died aged 32 in a cycling accident, was a gifted conductor and composer. He was also a champion of community music whose vision transformed the musical landscape of Coventry and Warwickshire.
Seb had a rare gift for seeing potential in everyone. He believed that choirs and orchestras should be welcoming to all, regardless of ability or background. This conviction shaped his career, which ranged from founding community ensembles to creating digital tools that helped people make music from home during the pandemic.
Seb was born in Bristol, the son of Sheila and Paul Farrall. He attended St Mary Redcliffe school and played the drums in a Salvation Army band from a young age. Seb moved to Coventry in 2010 to study music composition at Coventry University. He graduated with first-class honours and the Robert Ramskill composition award, already showing the blend of bold creativity and human warmth that would define his career.
In 2014 he and I co-founded Sing It Loud, a vibrant choir based in Leamington Spa, and in 2021 he helped launch the Coventry City of Culture Orchestra, an ensemble open to everyone – from professional musicians to those who had not picked up an instrument in decades. Seb also led numerous choirs across the region, and created onlineconductor.com, a resource hub for singers and musical directors.
He had a wonderful sense of humour, an irrepressible creative streak and a deep faith rooted in his membership of the Salvation Army. He often volunteered at the Coventry Winter Night Shelter, and brought the same empathy to his music-making as he did to his faith.
Seb had a vast network of friends, singers and fellow musicians whose lives he changed – not only through music, but through love, laughter and the belief that everyone deserves a place in the song.
He met Fran Pritchard, a music teacher, pianist and French horn player, online in 2019 but they almost immediately realised they had previously performed at the same concert, when Seb conducted the Warwickshire Symphony Orchestra, which Fran played in. They married in 2022.
Seb is survived by Fran and their daughter, Maisy, and by his parents.
