Paul Callaway

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. He was also active in opera and was the founding musical director of the Opera Society of Washington in 1956, now the renowned Washington National Opera. By the time of his death in 1995, he was acclaimed for his great influence on the musical life of the nation's capital. In 1977, Callaway was appointed a Honorary Officer of The Order of the British Empire (OBE) and invested by Ambassador Peter Jay on behalf of Queen Elizabeth II.

Early years and education

Born in Atlanta, Illinois, in 1909, Callaway attended Westminster College, Missouri, and subsequently studied organ with T. Tertius Noble (1930–1935), followed by studies with Leo Sowerby at the American Conservatory of Music in Chicago and then Marcel Dupré in Paris. While pursuing his advanced studies, Callaway was organist and choirmaster at St. Thomas Chapel in New York (1930–1935) and later St. Mark's Episcopal Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan (1935–1939).