A Toy for Tony is a poem by Seamus Heaney that was written to mark the retirement of Anthony Smith CBE (1938-2021) from the office of President of Magdalen College, Oxford.
Heaney’s poem was set to music for concert performance at Wigmore Hall, London in July 2005. The setting combines Heaney’s lines with three verses from the Hymnus Eucharisticus of Magdalen College.
A Toy for Tony was first performed by Robin Blaze (countertenor) and Nicholas Brown (piano) at Wigmore Hall, July 2005.