What is Master of the Queen's Music?
'''Master of the King's Music''' (or '''Master of the Queen's Music''' when the [[United Kingdom]] has a queen) is a post in the [[Royal Household]] of the [[King]] or [[Queen]] of the United Kingdom. It is the title given to one chosen [[composer]] of [[classical music]] Only one person holds the title at any one time. It is very similar to the post of [[Poet Laureate]] which is for a poet. The Master of the King's Music is [[Judith Weir]]. Instead of being appointed for life, she was appointed for a ten-year term like her predecessor, starting March 2014. The change was to give more composers the opportunity to serve. The Master of the King's Music has the job of composing music for special royal occasions such as [[anniversary|anniversaries]], [[marriage]]s and [[funeral]]s, and for special [[ceremony|ceremonies]]. The title was created in 1626 by [[Charles I of England|Charles I]]. It was spelt '''Master of the King's Musick''' and was always spelt that way until the time of Sir Edward Elgar who was Master from 1924 to 1934.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.royal.gov.uk/output/Page4999.asp|title=Master of the Queen's Music|publisher=webeditor@royal.gsx.gov.uk|accessdate=2007-12-25}}</ref> Holders of the post have been: *[[Nicholas Lanier]] (1625-1649 and 1660-1666) *[[Louis Grabu]] (1666-1674) *[[Nicholas Staggins]] (1674-1700) *[[John Eccles (composer)|John Eccles]] (1700-1735) *[[Maurice Greene (composer)|Maurice Greene]] (1735-1755) *[[William Boyce]] (1755-1779) *[[John Stanley (composer)|John Stanley]] (1779-1786) *[[William Parsons (music)|William Parsons]] (1786-1817) *[[William Shield]] (1817-1829) *[[Christian Kramer]] (1829-1834) *[[Franz Cramer]] (1834-1848) *[[George Frederick Anderson]] (1848-1870) *Sir [[William George Cusins]] (1870-1893) *Professor Sir [[Walter Parratt]], [[KCVO]] (1893-1924) *Sir [[Edward Elgar]], [[Baronet|Bt]] [[OM]] [[GCVO]] (1924-1934) *Sir [[Henry Walford Davies]], [[KCVO]] [[Order of the British Empire|OBE]] (1934-1941) *Sir [[Arnold Bax]], [[KCVO]] (1942-1952)