Tributes paid to Poole musician David Shirt who passed away

Husband and father of three, David Shirt, passed away at age 83 at Poole Hospital after a short illness.

His daughter, Sophie Shirt, described him as a ‘true gentleman who could make anything possible.”

Speaking about her dad, Sophie said: “He loved his children completely; he was generous to a fault.

“He was a man of many stories. He made life feel exciting and fun.

“If he felt something could happen, he would make it happen.”

David Shirt grew up on Ashley Road, where his father ran a pet shop that had monkeys.

He attended a ‘dame school’ where he reportedly did not receive a particularly fulfilling education.

While at the school, David became fascinated with a collection of instruments belonging to the lady who ran it.

Sophie said: “My dad became incredibly curious about what these instruments were."

After years of begging, he was finally allowed to play what turned out to be a violin.

David grew close to a composer named Cecil White and quickly rose to prominence, founding several orchestras, including the Southern Youth Orchestra in Bournemouth in the 1960s and multiple music groups.

He became a violin teacher and also transposed old Cistercian music that he performed at monasteries in Austria. Sophie said: "He was creative and ‘can-do’ to the end.”

In his penultimate major concert last year, David assembled a fifty-member Wessex Symphonica orchestra to perform for charity at the Pavilion Ballroom in Bournemouth.

This concert commemorated 130 years since Sir Dan Godfrey first conducted what became the Bournemouth Municipal Orchestra.

He presented original manuscripts used by Sir Dan Godfrey when recording for HMV in the 1930s to the Bournemouth Library archive during the performance.

After he retired, he wanted to ‘prove himself academically’, so at the age of 65, he completed 2 master's degrees and a PhD. Sophie said, “He was a very deep thinker, and he touched so many lives through his music, teaching, and passion.”