Michael, what a glorious voice you had! It was always a privilege to accompany you on the piano and a joy to hear you sing, whether in the Albert Hall, in a village hall or in rehearsal. Thank you for the many, many hours you spent working with me on my own voice, explaining and discussing points of technique with boundless enthusiasm and patience. You were an inspirational teacher; I watched you give your time, expertise and friendship to all your students with a generosity of spirit that was second to none, rejoicing with us in our successes and gently rebuilding our confidence when things didn’t go to plan. I will miss your sense of humour, your groan-worthy jokes, your wind-ups which, even after a friendship of more than 30 years, still invariably caught me out, and your favourite infuriating (but for the most part accurate) statement ‘I may not always be right but I’m never wrong’! In fact I wouldn’t be surprised if you were saying exactly that right now to the heavenly choir as you get stuck in to improving their top Cs! You were a man of great kindness, great talent and great heart; I was fortunate to have known and worked with you and will remember you always. Val