IN MEMORY OF MICK STOUT
Mr Stout was our dedicated, long-serving and much-loved Director of Music. In his positive outlook on life and in his resilience, his humility, his kindness, his wonderful sense of humour, his generosity of spirit, his selflessness, his tireless encouragement of others, his perennial optimism, in his contagious love of music and in so many other ways he was an example and inspiration to me and to pupils and colleagues alike. He leaves a wonderful musical legacy here: we will be much the poorer for his passing, but all the richer for his influence and impact on us. I have no doubt that his name and his memory will live long in the history of the School!
In trying to articulate complex emotions of shock, anger, loss and grief in the immediate aftermath of this very sad news, I cannot help but be reminded of a line from John Steinbeck’s novel The Winter of our Discontent: “It's so much darker when a light goes out than it would have been if it had never shone.”
Mr Jonathan GillespieHeadmaster
Please click on the image above to hear just one example of Mick Stout's incredible work at the School. Here, he is conducting The King's Singers with the School's Barbershop Group in 2016.
Mr Mick Stout was the most brilliant and perfect example of the power of showing kindness to others, even when our own lives are made difficult by our circumstances. I believe he was the human embodiment of our motto: of selfless sacrifice and self-denial, so as to see another thrive and flourish, and be made happy in so seeing.
From my personal experience, Mr Stout always sought to champion others, and delighted in nothing more than to give his pupils the platform on which they could stretch their musical talent and endeavours. He had long made the promise that one day I would be able to write a piece for our Choir to perform, and while bouts of ill-health delayed those plans for some years, Mr Stout was never one to back down on his word. A new piece was written and performed in the Carol Services of last year, the last of his countless at this School. I am proud that the carol was, and is dedicated to Mr Stout, and will continue to honour his memory and legacy forever.
John-EllisHead of School
In our memorial assembly in the Abbey on Friday 26 April, the congregation sung In Christ Alone, a hymn selected by Mick for entry into the School hymn book, and the School choir sung Litany to the Holy Spirit.
To read Mick's wonderful article on the value of music in education for the latest Versa magazine, please click here.
