Ernest Warburton (10 June 1937 in Irlam – 7 August 2001 in London) was a noted musicologist who specialized in the music of Johann Christian Bach.
After obtaining his BA at Oxford in 1959, Warburton was unable to stay there to complete his DPhil, due to lack of funds.
In 1960, he started work as a music teacher at Queen Mary's Grammar School for Boys, Basingstoke, Hants.
[1] During his time teaching, his time was described in one of his obituaries: “Although feared by some for his acerbic tongue — unleashed only on those who fell below the high standards he set himself and required from others — he was a companionable and humorous man, long-suffering and often highly entertaining.”[1] Warburton was known to severely admonish his school choir immediately before a concert, likening them to a “bunch of wet cod on a slab”.
[citation needed] Warburton directed a production of Bach's St Matthew Passion at the town Parish Church.