Ronald Corp OBE, the acclaimed composer and conductor who worked with the BBC Concert Orchestra and appeared at the BBC Proms, has died at the age of 74. Alongside his composing and conducting career Corp was an ordained Anglican priest who founded and was artistic director of the New London Orchestra (NLO) and the New London Children's Choir. He became musical director of the London Chorus in 1994, and was also musical director of the Highgate Choral Society.

Tributes flooded in as the news became known. "Very sad to hear the news of the death of conductor, Ronald Corp OBE — a very sensitive & dedicated conductor, so at home in music by our home-grown composers. (He was also a composer, himself.) @BBCRadio3 @ArcheryPromos @TheLondonChorus," one wrote. "The death has been announced, aged 74, on 7th May of Ronald Corp OBE. Composer, conductor and Anglican priest he is probably best known for his work with British light classical music notably including Robert Binge (Sailing By, Elizabethan Serenade etc)," another penned.

The London chorus paid touching tribute on their website. "It is with the most intense sadness that we announce that our beloved Musical Director, Ronald Corp, died on the morning of 7th May at Bath.

"Ron was not simply a highly talented musician, as a composer, conductor and chorus master. He was a genuine friend to us all: motivated at all times by the sincerity of his love of music and of the people with whom he made it.

"He had been associated with The London Chorus for 40 years, 30 of those as Musical Director, and believed in it profoundly.

"What the Choir owe to him can scarcely be put into words. Our grief is raw: but soon we shall devise a means to commemorate him so that his name and his example live on among us and in our Choir," they wrote.

Ronald, who was awarded an OBE in the 2012 New Year Honours for services to music, was due to perform his own work, Letters from Lony, at this year’s Three Choirs Festival in July in Hereford.

He studied music at Oxford University before joining the library at BBC Radio 3. He then founded the New London Orchestra in 1988, launching his conducting career which saw him perform at concerts and record with many orchestras including the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, BBC Concert Orchestra, Ulster Orchestra and Royal Scottish National Orchestra, as well as appearing at the BBC Proms.

In 1991 he founded The New London Children's Choir which aimed to introduce children to the challenges and fun of singing and performing all types of music.

The Choir has commissioned more than 40 new pieces and premiered numerous other works by composers. It has performed frequently at the Proms and made a number of film soundtrack and TV recordings, including the soundtrack to Star Wars Episode 1, The Phantom Menace.