G. D. Cunningham was born in
London to musical parents, Cunningham studied piano with his mother, subsequently switching to organ at the
Guildhall School of Music. Upon graduation he studied with
Josiah Booth at Park Chapel,
Crouch End, North London. From there he enrolled in the
Royal Academy of Music, where he became an FRCO at the age of eighteen and organist of the
Alexandra Palace at twenty-two, in 1901. After 1900 Cunningham's fame as a recitalist steadily grew. However, during the armistice celebrations of 1918 the instrument at Alexandra Palace was wantonly wrecked, and was not restored and re-opened again until December 1929. From 1920 to 1924 he was organist of
St Alban's Church, Holborn. In 1924 Cunningham was appointed
Birmingham City Organist and
Birmingham University Organist. He was conductor of the
City of Birmingham Choir for many years. He also played often at the Town Hall of the same city. In September 1930 he made recordings on the restored Alexandra Palace organ. Cunningham's most important students were
E. Power Biggs,
George Thalben-Ball, who succeeded him at Birmingham in 1949,
Fela Sowande, and
Michael (Stockwin) Howard, Geraint Jones and Arnold Richardson. Cunningham died in
Birmingham on 14 August 1948, aged 69. == References ==