My British female pianists and teachers series continues today with the prominent pedagogue Emily Daymond. Emily Rosa Daymond was born on 11th July 1866 and was the daughter of the Reverend Albert Cooke Daymond, who was a headmaster.

Daymond entered the Royal College of Music as a Foundation Scholar on 7th May 1883, when the College first opened and she primarily studied the piano. She studied with Ernst Pauer (piano), Richard Gompertz (violin), Dr. Frederick Bridge (harmony and counterpoint) and Dr. Hubert Parry, to whom she eventually became a devoted disciple. She frequently annotated and edited Parry’s works and towards the end of his life, became his musical assistant. Emily founded the RCM student union along with Marion Scott.

She completed her studies at the Royal College of Music, passed her examinations for the bachelor of music degree at Oxford in 1896 and for her doctor of music in 1901. She was the first woman ever to receive a doctorate from Oxford university, but it took Oxford another twenty years to allow women to hold the degrees they had won. Daymond held the post of Music Lecturer at the Royal Holloway College for Women, which is now part of London University. From 1908 to 1921 she taught piano and harmony at the Royal College of Music. She was one of the first female professors at the RCM.

In addition to her teaching, Daymond conducted choirs, lectured and made a study of Troubadour music. She produced two books of Score-Reading Exercises for the Novello Primer Series and published several of her own compositions. Daymond was also a keen sportswoman. As she approached the end of her life, she learned Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier by heart so she would have them with her when she was blind. She died on 10th October 1949.

The Royal Holloway College Band which Dr. Emily Daymond conducted in 1890.

Main source: Wikipedia

Publications

Melanie Spanswick has written and published a wide range of courses, anthologies, examination syllabuses, and text books, including Play it again: PIANO (published by Schott Music). This best-selling graded, progressive piano course contains a large selection of repertoire featuring a huge array of styles and genres, with copious practice tips and suggestions for every piece.

For more information, please visit the publications page, here.