AustLit

English composer.

Percy Eastman Fletcher carved out a successful career in the United Kingdom as a conductor, composer, and orchestrator. He became musical director at several London theatres, including the Prince of Wales, Savoy, Drury Lane, and, from 1915 until his death, His Majesty's. In 1916, he orchestrated Frederick Norton's score for the Oscar Asche extravaganza, Chu Chin Chow. He collaborated on two other works with Asche: Cairo (1921) and The Good Old Days (1925). Although involved in the theatre for most of his career, he did write other styles of music, notably several light orchestral works and many instrumental, solo, and choral pieces. He orchestrated and arranged for publication works by Coleridge-Taylor and others, and played a significant role as composer and adjudicator for brass bands. Fletcher died at Windsor (England) on 10 September 1932.