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The composer Avril Coleridge-Taylor continually bore the burden of her family reputation. As the offspring of the renowned Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, one of the prominent British artists of the early 20th century, her name was cloaked in the deep shadows of the past.

A World Premiere

Not long ago, I reflected on these legacies as I got ready to record the inaugural album of the composer’s concerto for piano composed in 1936. Featuring intense musical themes, expressive melodies, and bold rhythms, her composition will grant music lovers deep understanding into how the composer – an artist in conflict who entered the world in 1903 – conceived of her world as a woman of colour.

Shadows and Truth

But here’s the thing about the past. One needs patience to adapt, to recognize outlines as they actually appear, to distinguish truth from misinterpretation, and I had been afraid to face Avril’s past for a period.

I had so wanted Avril to be following in her father’s footsteps. Partially, she was. The idyllic English tones of parental inspiration can be observed in several pieces, including From the Hills (1934) and Sussex Landscape (1940). Yet it suffices to look at the names of her parent’s works to see how he identified as not only a flag bearer of UK romantic tradition as well as a voice of the Black diaspora.

This was where parent and child appeared to part ways.

American society evaluated Samuel by the mastery of his music instead of the colour of his skin.

Samuel’s African Roots

While he was studying at the Royal College of Music, her father – the child of a parent from Sierra Leone and a Caucasian parent – turned toward his African roots. When the poet of color this literary figure arrived in England in the late 19th century, the 21-year-old composer actively pursued him. He set this literary work as a composition and the subsequent year used the poet’s words for a musical work, Dream Lovers. Then came the choral composition that put Samuel on the map: Hiawatha’s Wedding Feast.

Drawing from the poet Longfellow’s The Song of Hiawatha, this composition was an international hit, notably for Black Americans who felt vicarious pride as white America assessed his work by the quality of his compositions as opposed to the his background.

Activism and Politics

Success did not temper his beliefs. In 1900, he was present at the First Pan African Conference in England where he encountered the prominent scholar the renowned Du Bois and observed a variety of discussions, covering the subjugation of the Black community there. He was a campaigner to his final days. He sustained relationships with trailblazers for equality like Du Bois and the educator Washington, gave addresses on ending discrimination, and even talked about matters of race with the US President while visiting to the White House in that year. In terms of his art, Du Bois recalled, “he established his reputation so prominently as a creative artist that it cannot soon be forgotten.” He died in that year, in his thirties. Yet how might the composer have made of his child’s choice to work in the African nation in the 1950s?

Issues and Stance

“Child of Celebrated Artist expresses approval to S African Bias,” appeared as a heading in the Black American publication Jet magazine. The system “struck me as the right policy”, the composer stated Jet. Upon further questioning, she backtracked: she did not support with the system “as a concept” and it “could be left to resolve itself, overseen by benevolent South Africans of diverse ethnicities”. Had Avril been more attuned to her family’s principles, or raised in segregated America, she could have hesitated about the policy. However, existence had sheltered her.

Heritage and Innocence

“I possess a UK passport,” she stated, “and the officials never asked me about my background.” Therefore, with her “light” skin (as Jet put it), she moved alongside white society, supported by their praise for her renowned family member. She gave a talk about her family’s work at the educational institution and conducted the broadcasting ensemble in the city, featuring the inspiring part of her concerto, titled: “In memory of my Father.” Although a confident pianist personally, she avoided playing as the lead performer in her piece. Rather, she always led as the conductor; and so the orchestra of the era performed under her direction.

The composer aspired, in her own words, she “could introduce a shift”. However, by that year, circumstances deteriorated. Once officials became aware of her Black ancestry, she was forced to leave the land. Her UK document didn’t protect her, the UK representative recommended her departure or face arrest. She returned to England, embarrassed as the scale of her innocence became clear. “The realization was a difficult one,” she expressed. Adding to her disgrace was the release in 1955 of her ill-fated Jet interview, a year after her forced leaving from South Africa.

A Recurring Theme

As I sat with these legacies, I perceived a familiar story. The narrative of holding UK citizenship until it’s challenged – one that calls to mind troops of color who served for the English throughout the global conflict and made it through but were not given their earned rewards. Along with the Windrush era,