Lee Lumbley

DESIGN RATIONALE

Genealogical sources in Provo, Utah corroborate an ancestral relationship to Henry Lumley, younger brother of Richard Lumley, later 1st Earl of Scarborough, but no original documents have been identified to date. As Henry and his first wife Elizabeth appeared in a family bible dating circa 1800, Henry’s family history has been a subject of study in this armiger's family for generations. To create proper armorial bearings with current genealogical evidence according to the law of arms, the shield is differenced by, first, "a Fess engrailed" referencing the crossing of the Atlantic by the armiger's ancestors, and second, "three Bezants" referencing the establishment of the armiger's ancestors in Virginia during the reign William III, of Orange, and Mary II. Several Lumley families use Popinjays or Parrots in their arms and the tradition has been carried on in this instance as well.

According to Burke's General Armory of England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Harrison & Sons. London. © Copyright 1884, the following Lumley families use the Popinjay or Parrot:
(a) Earls of Scarbrough: ARMS—Argent a Fess Gules three Parrots Vert Collared of the second CREST—A Pelican in her piety in her nest all proper SUPPORTERS—Two Popinjays wings addorsed and inverted Vert MOTTO—MURUS ÆNEUS CONSCIENTIA SANA (A sound conscience is a wall of brass).
(b) Lumley of Middlesex and York: ARMS—Argent, A Fess Gules between three Parrots proper gorged Gules CREST—A Pelican in her piety proper.
(c) Lumley of Clipston, co Northamptonshire: ARMS—Gules on a Fess Argent between three Popinjays Argent, three Mullets Sable.

The main element of the newly designed Crest is a Griffin. Being half Eagle and half Lion, it represents the American and English heritage of the armiger. Gules, Argent and Azure are the colors of the Union Flag and the flat of the United States as well as the flag of Texas where the armiger was born. The Saint Cuthbert’s cross is a reference to County Durham from whence the family descends. The tail is in the coward position for reverence before divine power represented in the cross.
In the Crests of other Lumley families, the blazon reads, "a Pelican in her piety..." The coronet replaces the Pelican's nest in this new Crest and is carried down into the badge, surmounting a White Rose, representing innocence, purity, and humility. The Rose is the official floral emblem of United States and the State of New York, where the armiger lives.

The motto is the Latin for God and my right. The right to which the motto refers is the right to bear arms.

All works completed between March and May 2010.

To the right: a first version with a reversed mantle colours. The Armiger opted for the crest with an anatomical per fess division. Please see: Crest. Later on I spotted the mistake in the original Latin motto and proposed a rectification.

Lee Lumbley is originally from Texas and attended Rice University in Houston and The Julliard School in New York. His artistic résumé includes careers as a film and television producer, composer, and operatic tenor.

As a producer, Mr. Lumbley’s projects included the films: Last Flight to Savannah (2004) with American director Robert Pietri, The Real Ones (2003) with American director Henry Lee, Under the Willow Tree (2003) with Chinese director Sen-I Yu, El Ricon de Venezuela (The Venezuelan Corner) (2003) with Venezuelan director Reyther Orgeta, The end side of a carousel (2003) with Chinese director Ming Chen, music video: For Reasons Unexplained (2004) for Sony artist Casey Stratton with Trinidadian director Vashti Anderson, and PBS television series Sesame Street (2003-4).

As a composer, he studied with Normal Nelson at West Texas State University and Paul Cooper at Rice University. Mr. Lumbley’s first major work, Angel Dances - A Dancework in Eight Segments was written in tribute to American choreographer Mark Morris and recorded in 1996 along with Tango M, scored for orchestra. In 1997, his Hodie Christus natus est was premiered by the San Jacinto College Choir in Houston, Texas. Lee’s concerto for piano and orchestra L'hommage a la nuit was composed in 1999 for the Queen Elisabeth of Belgium International Piano Competition and recorded in 2002 along with my Symphony of Myself, his first symphony. In 2003, his Sonata per pianoforte and Aria per un giorno primaverile (Song for a Spring Day) was written for solo piano and recorded. He also served as artist-in-residence for the Opera/Music Theater Institute in Washington, DC and as guest composer/lecturer at San Jacinto College in Houston, Texas.

As an operatic tenor, Mr. Lumbley studied voice with soprano Elsa Porter, protégé of Dame Eva Turner, mezzo-soprano Frances Bible, and tenor Denes Striny. His last performance credits include the Amalfi Coast Music Festival, the Ravello Music Festival, the Badia di Cava Music Festival—all in Italy, and the Bryant Park Young Performers Series in New York. His other credits include the Amarillo Symphony Orchestra, the Houston Grand Opera, the Houston Symphony Orchestra, the American Vocal Ensemble, the Hilliard Ensemble, the National Cathedral Choir of Men and Boys, and many others.

Mr. Lumbley’s operatic roles included U.S. Naval Lt. B.F. Pinkerton in Puccini's Madama Butterfly, Rinnucio in Puccini's Gianni Schicchi, Mario Cavaradossi in Puccini's Tosca, the title role in Bernstein's Candide, Faust in Gounod's Faust, Il Duca di Mantua in Verdi's Rigoletto, Nemorino in Donizetti's Il elisir d'mor, and many others. In 1995, he received the BRAVO! award for his contributions to the vocal arts.

Mr. Lumbley’s broadcast credits include the NBC Presents, PBS Great Performances, Discovery Channel, ABC National Radio, NPR National Public Radio, GMTV in the United Kingdom, and Italian National Television.

Beyond his artistic endeavors, Lee enjoyed significant careers in two other areas. First, Mr. Lumbley was an arts administrator with Houston's Alley Theater, Houston Ticket Center (Houston Grand Opera, Houston Symphony Orchestra, Houston Ballet Foundation, and Society for the Performing Arts), and later, the Washington, D.C. based Troika Organization.

Second, he was a consultant and advisor in the field of legal technologies and practice support for Jones, Day, Reavis & Pogue in Washington, DC, and Amster, Rothstein & Ebenstein, and Schulte, Roth & Zabel, LLP, in New York in a broad range of practice areas including White House investigations, US Senate investigations, SEC civil and criminal investigations, tobacco litigation, general corporate litigation, mergers and acquisitions, and intellectual property.

Mr. Lumbley’s other affiliations include Phi Eta Sigma National Honor Society, Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Professional Music Fraternity, AIDS Foundation of Houston, the Design Industries Foundation for AIDS, 1989 Outstanding Young Men of America, Washington Cultural Alliance, American Guild for Musical Artists, 1993 Inaugural Committee for President Bill Clinton, Gay Men's Health Crisis, the Volunteers of America, National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution, American Heraldry Society, the International Association of Amateur Heralds, where he is an Associate Fellow, and New England Historic Genealogical Society.
Mr. Lumbley currently resides in New York.