George Kent

Kent, George

George (Edward) Kent. Tenor, choir conductor, b Winnipeg 17 Oct 1915, d Victoria 16 Dec 2007. George Kent's father, Thomas (1889-1924), and uncles Linton and Albert, all originally from Southbank, Yorkshire, England, were tenor soloists in various Winnipeg churches. George sang in the Winnipeg Boys' Choir under Ethel Kinley and was the tenor soloist 1934-5 at St Luke's Anglican Church before moving to Vancouver for studies with David Ross, William Dichmont, and Clement Q. Williams. During World War II service in England he sang on BBC radio. On his return to Winnipeg he was soloist, then choirmaster 1948-58, at Knox United Church. He conducted the Winnipeg Male Voice Choir 1955-7. Kent excelled equally as a recitalist and as an oratorio soloist in Winnipeg during the 1940s and 1950s. His voice was a resonant and expressive robust-lyric tenor. He was memorable in Elijah, the Bach Passions and Beethoven's Ninth Symphony and in 1961, at the apex of his solo career, was Winnipeg's first Gerontius in Elgar's The Dream of Gerontius. He retired to Victoria in 1982 where he became conductor of the Rotary Choir and other male voice groups.