Born: March 27, 1816, Canterbury, England.
Baptized: April 14, 1816, Presbyterian Chapel, Canterbury.
Died: December 9, 1893, the Towers, Windlesham, Surrey, England.
Buried: St. George’s Chapel, Windsor, England.
Born into a musical family, George was the son of John Elvey and Abigail Hardiman.
He started his career as a boy, singing at Canterbury Cathedral. Later, he received formal training at the Canterbury Cathedral School, the Royal Academy of Music, and Oxford University (MB 1838, MD 1840).
Around 1835, he was appointed Master of the Boys
and organist at St. George’s Chapel, Windsor (one of his tunes, St. George’s Windsor, takes its name from this location). He served at St. George’s for almost half a century.
He was knighted in 1871 for his Festival March, played at the wedding of Princess Louise.