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On his retirement from Hobart and William Smith Colleges in 1979,
when he was voted Professor Emeritus, Lafford received an appointment
to St. Philip's Episcopal Church, Coral Gables, Florida, as music director
and organist where he remained for 15 years. He had served as guest
conductor of the Coral Gables, Florida, Civic Opera and Symphony
Society on numerous occasions. He was also associated with the
University of Miami, both as campus carillonneur and later as
Administrator of the Anna Pohl Lafford Language Laboratory, named
in honour of his wife for her contributions to the lab over her eight-year
tenure as its director until her death in 1988.
Lafford has given organ recitals in England, France, Germany, Hong
Kong, India, the Caribbean, Canada , and throughout the U.S. He has
served as guest organist for the National Choir of the Cayman Islands
on several occasions. As a pianist he specialized in chamber music and
accompanying, touring with such ensembles as The Hong Kong Trio
(with Prue Lewis, violin, and Ettore Pellegatti, cello), The English Duo
(Viola Morris, soprano, and Victoria Anderson, alto), the
Calingaert-Lafford Piano Duo, and the Berta-Lafford Duo (clarinet and
piano).
He has conducted the world or U.S. premieres of a number of important
Compositions by British composers, including Vaughan Williams,
Gustav Holst, George Dyson, Gordon Jacob and Harold Darke. In August,
1993, he was invited to conduct the Hong Kong Sinfonietta in a
performance of his In Memoriam, written in memory of those who fell
in the World War II defense of the colony. The concert was part of a
festival commemorating the colony's liberation.
Lafford's circa 300 compositions include a Concerto for Organ, Strings
and Timpani, a Sinfonia Miniatura, 2 Organ Sonatas (one of them an
international first prizewinner), a flute sonata, a clarinet sonata, several
chamber pieces; major choral works include A Song for St. Cecilia's Day,
A Cantata of Psalms, a Requiem, A Psalm of Praise, The Seven Last
Words, settings of the canticles, etc. Several have won international
competitions. At the Internationale Ferienkurse für Neue Musik at
Darmstadt, Germany, in 1972 his "Orgelprobe I" was hailed as
"eine denwürdige Aufführung" - "a memorable performance."
Lafford holds the following diplomas:
Fellow of the Royal College of Organists, with the added diploma:
Choir Master.
Fellow of Trinity College, London.
Fellow of the American Guild of Organists, ad eundem.
Licentiate of the Royal Academy of Music (Piano Accompanying).
Associate of the Royal College of Music (Organ).
He is an elected member of the Royal Society of Teachers and of the
American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers.
Lafford has the degree Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa.
when he was voted Professor Emeritus, Lafford received an appointment
to St. Philip's Episcopal Church, Coral Gables, Florida, as music director
and organist where he remained for 15 years. He had served as guest
conductor of the Coral Gables, Florida, Civic Opera and Symphony
Society on numerous occasions. He was also associated with the
University of Miami, both as campus carillonneur and later as
Administrator of the Anna Pohl Lafford Language Laboratory, named
in honour of his wife for her contributions to the lab over her eight-year
tenure as its director until her death in 1988.
Lafford has given organ recitals in England, France, Germany, Hong
Kong, India, the Caribbean, Canada , and throughout the U.S. He has
served as guest organist for the National Choir of the Cayman Islands
on several occasions. As a pianist he specialized in chamber music and
accompanying, touring with such ensembles as The Hong Kong Trio
(with Prue Lewis, violin, and Ettore Pellegatti, cello), The English Duo
(Viola Morris, soprano, and Victoria Anderson, alto), the
Calingaert-Lafford Piano Duo, and the Berta-Lafford Duo (clarinet and
piano).
He has conducted the world or U.S. premieres of a number of important
Compositions by British composers, including Vaughan Williams,
Gustav Holst, George Dyson, Gordon Jacob and Harold Darke. In August,
1993, he was invited to conduct the Hong Kong Sinfonietta in a
performance of his In Memoriam, written in memory of those who fell
in the World War II defense of the colony. The concert was part of a
festival commemorating the colony's liberation.
Lafford's circa 300 compositions include a Concerto for Organ, Strings
and Timpani, a Sinfonia Miniatura, 2 Organ Sonatas (one of them an
international first prizewinner), a flute sonata, a clarinet sonata, several
chamber pieces; major choral works include A Song for St. Cecilia's Day,
A Cantata of Psalms, a Requiem, A Psalm of Praise, The Seven Last
Words, settings of the canticles, etc. Several have won international
competitions. At the Internationale Ferienkurse für Neue Musik at
Darmstadt, Germany, in 1972 his "Orgelprobe I" was hailed as
"eine denwürdige Aufführung" - "a memorable performance."
Lafford holds the following diplomas:
Fellow of the Royal College of Organists, with the added diploma:
Choir Master.
Fellow of Trinity College, London.
Fellow of the American Guild of Organists, ad eundem.
Licentiate of the Royal Academy of Music (Piano Accompanying).
Associate of the Royal College of Music (Organ).
He is an elected member of the Royal Society of Teachers and of the
American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers.
Lafford has the degree Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa.