De Montfort University has named its new £35 million pound Business and Law building, next to the Newarke Gateway in Leicester, the Hugh Aston Building.

But who was Hugh - and how does he figure in DMU’s thinking?

De Montfort University can claim a pedigree of education and learning which reaches back to the time of the Wyggestons.

Indeed, all three Wyggeston brothers lie buried beneath Magazine Square or nearby, and early technical classes in the original School of Art and Design were taught at the Alderman Newton’s School, formerly the Wyggeston School on Highcross Street.

The chapel of Trinity Hospital - now known as Trinity House which accommodates the office of the Vice-Chancellor and Pro Vice-Chancellors - is part of the original collegiate buildings of the Church of St Mary of the Annunciation in the Newarke, founded in 1331 by Henry, Third Earl of Lancaster and Leicester.

In this church and its associated buildings, Hugh Aston worked as the college’s organist and choir master.

Aston died in November 1558. He had been a leading figure of his time, serving at different times as Coroner, Mayor and Member of Parliament for Leicester; but beyond and above all those roles he was one of England’s foremost Tudor composers, and head of music at the College and Hospital of the Newarke.

Few details of Aston’s life are certain. In 1510 he attempted to obtain a BMus at Oxford by submitting a mass and an antiphon but it is not certain if the degree was granted. Between 1510 and 1525 he may have lived in London, and may have had some association with the court of Henry VIII.

He was organist and chorus master at Leicester between 1525 and 1548. He was an applicant for the position of chorus master at Cardinal Wolsey's new Cardinal College, 

but John Taverner was installed in the post instead. Aston’s precise date of death is not known, but he was buried on 17 November 1558 in Leicester, at St. Margaret's parish. Additional records show that no less than seven pensions were paid to him up until that date.

De Montfort University sees strong links with the legacy of Aston’s innovative music. Aston bridged the gap between the sacred and the secular. Arguably, he could be described as a man of the community in representing Leicester in Parliament. He was closely involved in the life of the town as its Mayor; and was an inventive and creative musician, producing fine music which can be enjoyed for its beauty and quality today.

450 years later, De Montfort University is a leading institution in the teaching of Music, Technology and Innovation with a worldwide reputation. Students and staff of the BA Hons and Masters degrees in Music, Technology and Innovation use several facilities on campus for composing and playing cutting-edge music including the recently renovated Chantry; the small stone building opposite Trinity House on The Newarke, which would have been familiar to Aston.

In the words of Simon Emmerson, Professor of Music Technology and Innovations at DMU:

"Hugh Aston is noted for his innovative keyboard and choral writing ... to think that the creative techniques we are now teaching our students were pre-figured nearly 500 years ago by this inventive composer is remarkable, especially since he is such an important figure in the history of Leicester working right here where we work now."

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