Did Frederick Delius, when he was a very little lad, pick up the musical vibes from an elderly man living in the next Bradford street? That's the fanciful thought that arises after learning that the young Delius, who was born in 1862, lived for the next four years in Claremont adjacent to Ashgrove where, until his death in 1866, William Jackson lived.

Jackson was not only an accomplished composer. He was also in at the beginning of the Bradford Festival Choral Society, which is this year celebrating 150 years of music-making in the city, and he helped to fill St George's Hall with the sound of music after its opening in 1853.

William Jackson wasn't Bradford born-and-bred. He hailed originally from Masham where his father was a miller. He was born in 1816 and developed a precocious interest in the barrel organ which accompanied services at Masham Parish Church. In 1862, at the age of 16, he was appointed organist there and began to write music for the church.

In 1839 he published his first anthem, "For joy let fertile valleys sing", and the following year his glee, "The sister of the sea", gained first prize at the Huddersfield Glee Club.

In May 1852 - according to information kindly provided by Bernard Cummings of theFestival Choral Society - William Jackson came to settle in Bradford and set up in business with a music shop in Kirkgate. He soon gained a reputation as an organist and the conductor of local choirs.

More than two years before his arrival here a meeting had been held at the invitation of Samuel Smith to discuss the building of a concert hall in Bradford and a committee was formed to evaluate the proposal.

The foundation stone of St George's Hall was laid on Sept 1851 and Samuel Smith became chairman of the company formed to raise money and oversee the building. The architects were Messrs Lockwood & Mawson, of Bradford.

St George's Hall was opened with a three-day music festival in August 1853, a year after William Jackson came to live here and began to immerse himself in the musical life of the city (by which time Samuel Smith had become Mayor).

Well-known soloists of the day were engaged for the occasion, an orchestra was formed and a choir was assembled and trained by Jackson.

The programme of events included a performance of Handel's Messiah, Mendelssohn's St Paul and the first performance of a Credo by Mendelssohn, the manuscript of which had been presented to the Festival Committee by representatives of the late composer.

In the November William Jackson's Isaiah was performed at St George's Hall.

The festival was revived in August 1856 as the Bradford Triennial Musical Festival. Soloists were engaged, and the orchestra and chorus were conducted by Jackson. Items performed were Messiah, Elijah and Jackson's Psalm 103, written expressly for this festival.

Following on the success of this second musical festival, the Bradford Festival Choral Society was formed at a meeting in St George's Hall in November 1856, with Samuel Smith elected president and William Jackson conductor. The new Choral Society gave its first performance of Messiah in December 1856.

Its first public concert followed in St George's Hall on May 11, 1857 and in December of that year the chorus performed Jackson's oratorio The Deliverance of Israel.

The choir's fame spread and in June 1858 they were asked to perform at Buckingham Palace before Queen Victoria and the Court. This was reported to be a great success with the Queen asking for an encore.

The programme was repeated at the Crystal Palace and other venues in London before Jackson and his choir returned to a triumphant reception in Bradford.

The choir was now established as an important artistic society in the town, and played a major part in the Triennial Festival in 1859 when works performed included Haydn's Creation and Handel's Dettingen Te Deum and the chorus gave the first performance of Jackson's cantata The Year.

Jackson continued to conduct the choir until his sudden death in April, 1866.

The funeral service took place at Horton Lane Chapel where the choir sang anthems and hymns by the late composer. The funeral procession to his final resting place in Undercliffe was followed by singing at the graveside. The following month a memorial performance of The Deliverance of Israel was given in St George's Hall and the proceeds went towards a memorial in Undercliffe Cemetery.

This was recently located by members of the Festival Choral Society and was cleaned up by them before flowers were placed there to mark the 140th anniversary of the death of their conductor.