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Born Southampton 1939. Frank received his initial musical training as an army bandsman, and subsequently at Southampton University as a mature student. An interest in composition was encouraged first by Jonathan Harvey (no relation) and then by the late David Gow. He has lived in the village of Purton, near Swindon in Wiltshire for many years, and much of his work has been written for local schools. This has ranged from the popular style of incidental music for Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory to a quasi-operatic setting of the Goddess' Trio in Shakespeare's The Tempest. In collaboration with a drama teacher, David Calder he has written a musical called Black Bart's Treasure. The music for a play about Brunel was developed into an organ piece GWR 150, which in turn led to a setting by a local poet Mary Ratcliffe about the Swindon Railway Works entitled The Ballad of Steam. He has also written an orchestral work Moonlight Sonata 1940, inspired by some disturbing childhood memories of the Southampton blitz, a symphony, and chamber music. Some of his songs have been performed by the English Poetry and Song Society. A recently commissioned work, A Purton Suite for Brass Band was performed in 2000 by Swindon Brass.


The SCA online database currently lists 4 scores by Frank Harvey.

Title	Year	Instrumentation	Mins	Other Information	Audio	View score	Publ.
2-part Intervention	2005	Harp	5-6		listen	N/A
Flashbacks	2004	Piano	9-10	Flashbacks (1930-2000). This piece for pianoforte has a programme similar to that of Richard Strauss’ Death and Transfiguration; the musical style is very different! It is based upon personal observation. An old person who has nothing left but memories looks back to her youth in the 1930s. Sadly, these memories are muddled and confused. This situation is represented musically by atonality interspersed with fragments of a foxtrot. In this piece, a foxtrot is a symbol of lost youth, rather than Peter Maxwell Davies’ use of it as a symbol of decadence. The confusion is intensified to a point when suddenly, miraculously, memory is restored, and the foxtrot is clearly stated. Again, there is even greater confusion, leading this time to a transformation of the foxtrot into an outburst of romanticism reminiscent of the “pseudo-Rachmaninov” film music of the period- a symbol of youthful romance. This gradually melts into a final moment of confusion, which in turn melts into a final peace.	listen	N/A
Re-membrance	19	Wind Band	9-10	Or for Brass Band. This concert overture was inspired by the composer's memories of his service as an army bandsman. The various short solos are tributes to former colleagues	N/A	view score
The Emperor's New Clothes	1992	Choir+accomp	11-15	This "pop Cantata" was written for, and performed by top junior and secondary pupils. The voice part may be performed by a choir, or a soloist; the fanfare instruments are optional.	N/A	view score