Anthony Inglis (conductor) - Education

Education

He was first educated at Freston Lodge School in Sevenoaks, where at the age of 6 he first conducted! This formed his life's ambition to be a conductor. On leaving Freston Lodge he boarded at Hordle House on the south coast of England at a little village called Milford-on-Sea. On leaving there he gained a scholarship to Marlborough College in Wiltshire. Academically, he was not gifted and he left before failing his A Levels (having achieved the heady heights of passing 4 O Levels including music) and entered The Royal College of Music at an early age. In fact there is a fairly reported story of he and his 2-year-younger brother swapping places at the end of the week's academic places at Hordle House. A huge roar went up from the assembled school when the places were read out and Howard-Williams minor was ahead of Howard-Williams major. Another story that went round Marlborough very quickly was when he had doubled booked himself for two performances on the same evening. One was as Portia in Shakespeare's Julius Caesar (play), the other in a Beethoven piano quartet! However the Beethoven was scheduled for a substantial break in the play when Portia does not appear, so he was able to do both. Unfortunately, there was no time to change and as the play was in modern dress, this must have been an interesting occasion for the audience who came to watch a Beethoven piano quartet in The Adderly at Marlborough College. For there, seated at the piano surrounded by his teachers and visitors all dressed in black tie, was this boy, dressed in a mini-skirt, tights and long blonde hair! This caused a minor sensation at an all-boys school (as Marlborough was then!). He was also at Hordle House when the visiting cricket team made the grand total of 5 all out. This was beaten on the first ball of the Hordle House 1st X1 innings when a boy called Best hit a six!