Paul Smith Callaway, OBE (August 16, 1909 – March 21, 1995) was a prominent American organist and choral conductor, particularly well known for his thirty-eight years at the Washington National Cathedral, Washington, D.C., between 1939–1977. A friend of Leonard Bernstein and Ned Rorem, he was also active in opera and a frequent guest conductor of the Lake George Opera Company (now Saratoga Opera) and was the founding musical director of the Opera Society of Washington in 1956, now the renowned Washington National Opera.[1] By the time of his death in 1995, he was acclaimed for his great influence on the musical life of the nation's capital.[2] In 1977, Callaway was appointed an Honorary Officer of The Order of the British Empire (OBE) and invested by Ambassador Peter Jay on behalf of Queen Elizabeth II.[3][citation needed]
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On September 1, 1939, Callaway became organist and choirmaster at the Washington National Cathedral, where he founded the Cathedral Choral Society in 1941.[4] During World War II, Callaway was drafted into the Army as a bandmaster in the South Pacific.,[2] returning in May 1946. During his tenure at the Cathedral, Callaway expanded the music program's support of American liturgical music and also oversaw considerable expansion of the organ in the 1950s–1970s as construction of the Cathedral's nave was completed.[4] He was quite short in stature, necessitating the installation of a custom-made adjustable pedalboard operated hydraulically so that the diminutive organist could comfortably reach the pedals of the Washington Cathedral's organ.[5]
Callaway's works include The Great Organ of Washington Cathedral, recorded in 1974, An hymne of heavenly love, composed in the late-1930s while at St. Mark's Episcopal Church in Grand Rapids.,[5] and "Hark! the Glad Sound!"[9] composed in December 1944 for the Cathedral Choral Society.
Upon Callaway's retirement as the Cathedral's third organist and choirmaster in 1977, he was succeeded by assistant organist Richard Wayne Dirksen, the Canon Precentor. Washington Post music critic Paul Hume said of Callaway at the time, "It seems incontrovertible that he has had a larger influence on the musical life of this city than any other person".[2] Callaway then served as organist and choirmaster at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Washington. He was a member of the Church of the Ascension and Saint Agnes in Washington, where his requiem was held following his death from cancer on March 21, 1995.[2] A memorial tuba rank was installed on the organ of the Church of the Ascension and Saint Agnes in his memory.[10]
The Great Organ of Washington Cathedral (LP liner notes). New York: Mirrosonic Records. 1974. LCCN 74750201. Centennial Celebration (CD liner notes). Washington, D.C.: Washington National Cathedral. 2007.