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This talented musician always bore the burden of her family reputation. As the daughter of the renowned Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, among the prominent UK composers of the early 20th century, her name was shrouded in the lingering obscurity of bygone eras.

A World Premiere

Earlier this year, I reflected on these memories as I made arrangements to produce the inaugural album of her piano concerto from 1936. Featuring emotional harmonies, expressive melodies, and valiant rhythms, her composition will offer music lovers deep understanding into how she – an artist in conflict originating from the early 1900s – imagined her reality as a woman of colour.

Past and Present

But here’s the thing about shadows. It can take a while to adjust, to perceive forms as they really are, to separate fact from misinterpretation, and I felt hesitant to face her history for some time.

I deeply hoped the composer to be a reflection of her father. To some extent, she was. The idyllic English tones of Samuel’s influence can be observed in several pieces, including From the Hills (1934) and Sussex Landscape (1940). Yet it suffices to review the titles of her father’s compositions to realize how he viewed himself as not just a standard-bearer of British Romantic style as well as a advocate of the Black diaspora.

At this point father and daughter appeared to part ways.

The United States judged Samuel by the excellence of his music as opposed to the colour of his skin.

Parental Heritage

While he was studying at the renowned institution, the composer – the son of a African father and a Caucasian parent – turned toward his background. Once the poet of color this literary figure arrived in England in 1897, the 21-year-old composer actively pursued him. He set Dunbar’s African Romances to music and the next year adapted his verses for a stage piece, Dream Lovers. This was followed by the choral work that put Samuel on the map: Hiawatha’s Wedding Feast.

Inspired by this American writer’s The Song of Hiawatha, the piece was an international hit, particularly among Black Americans who felt shared pride as white America assessed his work by the brilliance of his art rather than the his background.

Advocacy and Beliefs

Fame did not temper his activism. In 1900, he attended the pioneering African conference in England where he made the acquaintance of the prominent scholar WEB Du Bois and witnessed a range of talks, including on the oppression of Black South Africans. He remained an advocate to his final days. He kept connections with early civil rights leaders such as the scholar and the educator Washington, delivered his own speeches on ending discrimination, and even discussed matters of race with the American leader on a trip to the US capital in 1904. As for his music, reminisced Du Bois, “he made his mark so notably as a musician that it will long be remembered.” He succumbed in the early 20th century, in his thirties. But what would Samuel have thought of his offspring’s move to travel to the African nation in the 1950s?

Conflict and Policy

“Child of Celebrated Artist expresses approval to South African policy,” declared a title in the Black American publication Jet magazine. Apartheid “struck me as the correct approach”, Avril told Jet. When pushed to clarify, she qualified her remarks: she was not in favor with apartheid “as a concept” and it “ought to be permitted to resolve itself, guided by well-meaning people of diverse ethnicities”. If Avril had been more aligned to her parent’s beliefs, or born in the US under segregation, she might have thought twice about the policy. However, existence had shielded her.

Background and Inexperience

“I have a British passport,” she remarked, “and the authorities did not inquire me about my background.” Thus, with her “light” appearance (as Jet put it), she floated alongside white society, supported by their acclaim for her renowned family member. She presented about her family’s work at the University of Cape Town and directed the South African Broadcasting Corporation Orchestra in the city, including the inspiring part of her concerto, subtitled: “In remembrance of my Father.” While a confident pianist on her own, she never played as the lead performer in her work. Rather, she consistently conducted as the conductor; and so the segregated ensemble followed her lead.

She desired, as she stated, she “could introduce a shift”. But by 1954, the situation collapsed. When government agents became aware of her African heritage, she had to depart the country. Her UK document offered no defense, the diplomatic official advised her to leave or be jailed. She returned to England, feeling great shame as the scale of her inexperience became clear. “This experience was a painful one,” she stated. Compounding her embarrassment was the printing that year of her ill-fated Jet interview, a year after her sudden departure from that nation.

A Common Narrative

While I reflected with these shadows, I sensed a recurring theme. The story of identifying as British until you’re not – that brings to mind Black soldiers who defended the British throughout the second world war and lived only to be refused rightful benefits. And the Windrush generation,