Avril Coleridge-Taylor facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Gwendolen Avril Coleridge-Taylor
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Avril Coleridge-Taylor
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| Born | Gwendolen Avril Coleridge-Taylor 8 March 1903 South Norwood, Surrey |
| Died | 21 December 1998 (aged 95) Seaford, East Sussex |
| Language | English |
| Nationality | British |
| Education | Trinity College of Music |
Gwendolen Avril Coleridge-Taylor (born March 8, 1903 – died December 21, 1998) was an English pianist, conductor, and composer. She was the daughter of the famous composer Samuel Coleridge-Taylor.
Contents
Her Life Story
Avril Coleridge-Taylor was born in South Norwood, London. Her father, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, was a well-known composer. Her mother, Jessie Walmisley, was also a musician. They both met while studying music. Avril had an older brother named Hiawatha.
In 1924, Avril married Harold Dashwood. At first, she used her full name, Gwendolen Avril Coleridge-Taylor, for her music. After she and Harold divorced, she decided to use "Avril Coleridge-Taylor" professionally.
In 1952, Avril was invited to visit South Africa. At that time, South Africa had unfair laws called apartheid. These laws separated people based on their race. Avril was mostly white, so she was first treated as white. However, when the government found out that her grandfather was from Sierra Leone and she had some Black heritage, they would not let her work as a composer or conductor. This was a very unfair rule that stopped her from sharing her musical talents.
In 1939, she moved to Buxted in East Sussex, a beautiful area with views of the South Downs. Avril Coleridge-Taylor passed away in Seaford, on the Sussex coast, in late 1998. A special blue plaque was placed at the nursing home where she spent her last days.
Her Music Career
Avril Coleridge-Taylor showed her musical talent early. She wrote her first song, Goodbye Butterfly, when she was just twelve years old. Later, she won a scholarship to study composition and piano at Trinity College of Music in 1915.
In 1933, she made her first big appearance as a conductor at the Royal Albert Hall. She was the first woman to conduct the H.M.S. Royal Marines band. She also often conducted the BBC Orchestra and the London Symphony Orchestra. In 1938, she made history again as the first female conductor to lead a band in London's Hyde Park.
Avril also started her own groups. In 1941, she founded the Coleridge-Taylor Symphony Orchestra and a music society. She wanted to help musicians find work during a difficult time. Her orchestra grew to have over 100 musicians and a choir of 70 voices. She also created the Malcolm Sargent Symphony Orchestra and the New World Singers.
In 1956, she helped with a BBC radio show called The Green Pastures. She arranged and conducted the spiritual songs for it. In 1957, she wrote a special piece called Ceremonial March for Ghana's independence day celebrations. Even Martin Luther King attended this event.
Later in her life, Avril wrote a book about her father, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor. The book, called The Heritage of Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, shares her memories of him. She also wrote some music under a different name, Peter Riley.
Her Compositions
Avril Coleridge-Taylor wrote many different kinds of music. She composed large pieces for orchestras, as well as songs, piano music, and chamber music (music for small groups of instruments).
Some of her orchestral works include:
- To April (1929)
- Spring Magic (1933)
- Sussex Landscape, Op. 27 (1936)
- A Piano Concerto in F minor (1938)
- Historical Episode (1941), a big work about wartime events.
She also wrote pieces for choir and orchestra, like Wyndore (Windover) and The Elfin Artist.
In recent years, people have become more interested in her music again. For example, a piece called Romance de pan was found and performed in 2018. Her work Sussex Landscape was played by the Chineke! Orchestra in 2019 and 2020. Wyndore, inspired by a poem, was first performed in 1937 and then again by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in 2020.
Works
Chamber music
- Idylle for flute and piano, Op. 21
- Impromptu for flute and piano, Op. 33
- A Lament for flute and piano, Op. 31
- Fantasie for violin and piano
Keyboard music
- Impromptu, Op. 9
- Rhapsody for piano, Op. 174
- Nocturne for piano solo
- Concert etude
Orchestral music
- Sussex Landscape, (1940) Op. 27
- Wyndore for choir and orchestra (1936)
- Concerto in F minor for piano and orchestra (1938)
- Historical Episode (1941)
- Symphonic Impression (1942)
- Golden Wedding Ballet Suite
- Comet Prelude (1952)
- Ceremonial March to celebrate Ghana's Independence (1957)
Songs
- Goodbye Butterfly, Op. 1
- Mister Sun, Op. 2
- Silver Stars, Op. 3
- Who Knows?, Op. 4
- April, Op. 5
- The Dreaming Water Lily, Op. 6
- The Rustling of Grass, Op. 7 (text: Alfred Noyes)
- The Entranced Hour, Op. 8
- Song, Op. 29
- Nightfall, Op. 43
- Apple Blossom, Op. 44
- Sleeping and Waking, Op. 45
See also
In Spanish: Avril Coleridge-Taylor para niños
