About Jane Parker-Smith
Jane Caroline Rebecca Parker-Smith (20 May 1950 – 24 June 2020) was a British classical organist. Her obituary in The Guardian said she had "a stellar international career, popular with audiences for her wide-ranging sympathies and jaw-dropping virtuosity". == Career == Jane Caroline Rebecca Smith was born on 20 May 1950 in Northampton and moved soon after to Hampshire where she was educated at Barton Peveril Grammar School in Eastleigh. She then studied at the Royal College of Music, at first taking piano, cello and harpsichord before changing to the organ. She used the name Parker-Smith professionally from her debut recital aged 20: Parker was her mother's maiden name. She studied under Nicolas Kynaston, organist of Westminster Cathedral, whom she "acknowledged... as the most important musical influence of her life", and Jean Langlais in Paris. Parker-Smith performed at the Royal Albert Hall for the BBC Proms in 1972, but she gained considerable attention when she deputised at five days' notice for the indisposed Fernando Germani at the Royal Festival Hall, London in 1975. Although she made her reputation as an international soloist in concert halls, at festivals and through recordings, Parker-Smith was also a church organist at Deutsche Evangelische Christuskirche for 30 years. == Personal life and death == At age 46, having never been married before, Jane married John Gadney (died 2012) in 1996, with no biological children of her own, Jane became stepmother to John's three children.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.