Avril Coleridge-Taylor

About

Avril Coleridge-Taylor followed in the footsteps of her father, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, by writing and publishing her first composition, “Goodbye Butterfly,” when she was twelve years old. She went on to write several large-scale orchestral works, numerous chamber pieces, and a selection of art songs. In 1957, she was commissioned to write a ceremonial march in celebration of Ghana’s independence. Coleridge-Taylor sometimes published her works under the pseudonym Peter Riley to prove to her critics that her music had its own merit, independent of what was implied based on the last name she shared with her father. In the words of her son, “[Avril] felt keenly that she ought to take her place among the greatest. But the people in the classical music profession disadvantaged her because of what she was”–a mixed-race woman with a famous musical father.

Related Information

Works by Avril Coleridge-Taylor