Reed studied composition with Herbert Howells and conducting with Constant Lambert.
He wrote reviews for the group during the Second World War, and travelled and composed extensively for them between 1940 and 1960.
He became director of music at Westminster Theatre Arts Centre in 1966, the group's London venue, and ran a series of successful concerts there.
[1] Penelope Thwaites described Reed's compositional style as "quintessentially English", with inspiration from Howells and John Ireland mixed with "spiky dissonance".
[1] His pieces include the following:[1] Reed also published collections of vocal music, such as The Golden Book of Carols (1948), The Treasury of Vocal Music (1969), and editions of National Anthems of the World (1978 to 2002) with Michael Jamieson Bristow.