Tom Eastwood

Thomas Hugh Eastwood (12 March 1922 – 25 October 1999) was a British composer. He was born in Hawley, Hampshire, the son of General Sir Thomas Ralph Eastwood and Lady Mabel Vivian Temperley Eastwood. His grandmother was Ellinor Hall Smyth (married name Eastwood), sister of the British composer Dame Ethel Smyth. Tom Eastwood was educated at Eton and Trinity College, Cambridge University. During World War II he was aide-de-camp to his father who was then Governor of Gibraltar. He first studied music in Turkey with Necil Akses, then in Berlin and London with Boris Blacher and Professor Erwin Stein. Tom Eastwood's inspirations included Greek theatre and later in life his musical imagination was fired by Brazilian folklore, history and music. His music encompasses contemporary themes such as the murdered environmental activist, Chico Mendes. He won a prize at the 1949 Cheltenham Music Festiva...