Jean Anderson (musician)
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2023}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| background = person
| name = Jean Anderson
| image =
| alt =
| caption =
| birth_name = Margaret Jean Anderson
| alias = Margaret Jean Hunt
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1923|02|26|df=y}}
| birth_place = Christchurch, New Zealand
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2020|08|12|1923|02|26|df=y}}
| death_place = London, England
| genre = Classical music
| occupation = {{hlist|Pianist|professor}}
| instrument = Piano
| years_active =
| label =
| current_member_of =
| past_member_of =
| spouse = {{marriage|Francis Iveson Robeson Hunt|1947|1992|end=d.}}
}}
Margaret Jean Hunt {{postnominals|country=GBR|BEM|FRAM}} (née Anderson; 26 February 1923 – 12 August 2020) was a New Zealand-born pianist and professor of music who lived and worked in the United Kingdom from the 1940s.
Early life and family
Born in Christchurch, New Zealand, on 26 February 1923, Anderson was the daughter of Florence Ruth Anderson (née Vincent) and Oscar Wilfred Breakey Anderson.{{cite web |url=https://www.bdmhistoricalrecords.dia.govt.nz/search/search?path=%2FqueryEntry.m%3Ftype%3Dbirths |title=Birth search: registration number 1923/13775 |website=Births, marriages & deaths online |publisher=Department of Internal Affairs |access-date=7 January 2024}}{{cite news |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/TS19230228.2.2.1 |title=Births |date=28 February 1923 |work=The Star |issue=16698 |page=1 |access-date=7 January 2024 |via=PapersPast}}{{cite news |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/LT19140117.2.2.2 |title=Marriage |date=17 January 1914 |work=Lyttelton Times |volume=115 |issue=16451 |page=1 |access-date=7 January 2024 |via=PapersPast}} Her father was a chartered accountant and sharebroker, later served on the Christchurch City Council, and was a noted floriculturalist.{{cite news |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP19730619.2.178 |title=Obituary: Mr O. W. B. Anderson |date=19 June 1973 |work=The Press |volume=113 |issue=33255 |page=22 |access-date=7 January 2024 |via=PapersPast}} Anderson was educated at St Margaret's College, Christchurch.{{cite news |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP19551110.2.6 |title=Old girls of St. Margaret's: distinctions listed by bishop |date=10 November 1955 |work=The Press |volume=92 |issue=27812 |page=2 |access-date=8 January 2024 |via=PapersPast}}
In London, Anderson met Francis Iveson Robeson Hunt, whom she had known while a schoolgirl in Christchurch.{{cite news |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP19590912.2.15 |title=Pianist's return to city after 14 years |date=12 September 1959 |work=The Press |volume=98 |issue=28998 |page=4 |access-date=8 January 2024 |via=PapersPast}} Hunt was a businessman and violin teacher. The couple's engagement was announced in June 1946,{{cite news |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP19460603.2.4.2 |title=Engagement |date=3 June 1946 |work=The Press |volume=82 |issue=24891 |page=2 |access-date=8 January 2024 |via=PapersPast}} and they wed on 22 February 1947 at St Cuthbert's Church, Earls Court.{{cite news |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP19470327.2.2.2 |title=Marriages |date=27 March 1947 |work=The Press |volume=83 |issue=25144 |page=1 |access-date=8 January 2024 |via=PapersPast}} Their children include the musician Gordon Hunt.{{cite web |url=https://larryslatteryfund.org/about/larry-history/ |title=History of the Larry Slattery Memorial Fund |date=23 January 2017 |publisher=Larry Slattery Memorial Fund |access-date=8 January 2024}}
Musical education
Anderson attended the Royal Academy of Music. In 1947, she was awarded the Prize for Pianoforte Accompaniment by Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester.{{cite book |author= |date=1947 |title=1947 Prize List Royal Academy of Music |url=https://archive.org/details/RAMGPL1947 |via=Internet Archive |page=8}} In 1948, she was awarded the Elsie Horne Gift and Albanesi Prize.{{cite book |author= |date=1948 |title=1948 Prize List Royal Academy of Music |url=https://archive.org/details/RAMGPL1948 |via=Internet Archive}} In 1949, she was awarded the Chappell Pianoforte Prize and Rae Leeming Memorial Prize.{{cite book |author= |date=1949 |title=1949 July, Prize List, Royal Academy of Music |url=https://archive.org/details/RAMGPL1949 |via=Internet Archive}}
Career
Anderson was, for a long time, professor of piano at the Royal Academy of Music. She adjudicated the Louise Band Prizes in 1978,{{cite book |author= |date=July 1978 |title=1978 July, Prize List Royal Academy of Music |url=https://archive.org/details/RAMGPL1978 |via=Internet Archive}} 1979,{{cite book |author= |date=July 1979 |title=1979 July, Prize List Royal Academy of Music |url=https://archive.org/details/RAMGPL1979 |via=Internet Archive} |page=32}} 1980{{cite book |author= |date=July 1980 |title=1980 July, Prize List Royal Academy of Music |url=https://archive.org/details/RAMGPL1980 |via=Internet Archive} |page=18}} and 1985, the Albanesi Prize in 1981,{{cite book |author= |date=July 1981 |title=1981 July, Prize List Royal Academy of Music |url=https://archive.org/details/RAMGPL1981 |via=Internet Archive} |page=6}} 1982,{{cite book |author= |date=July 1982 |title=1982 July, List Of Prizes, Scholarships And Other Awards Royal Academy of Music |url=https://archive.org/details/RAMGPL1982 |via=Internet Archive}} 1983,{{cite book |author= |date=July 1983 |title=1983 July, List Of Prizes, Scholarships And Other Awards Royal Academy of Music |url=https://archive.org/details/RAMGPL1983 |via=Internet Archive}} and 1986,{{cite book |author= |date=1986 |title=1986 Graduation And Prizegiving Royal Academy of Music |url=https://archive.org/details/RAMGPL1986 |via=Internet Archive}} and the Eric Brough Prize in 1982, 1983, and 1986. In 1985 and 1987, she adjudicated the Claude Beddington Prize, the Vivian Langrish Prize, the Frederick Westlake Prize, and the Cuthbert Whitemore Prize.{{cite book |author= |date=1985 |title=1985 Graduation And Prizegiving Royal Academy of Music |url=https://archive.org/details/RAMGPL1985 |via=Internet Archive}}{{cite book |author= |date=1987 |title=1987 Graduation And Prizegiving Royal Academy of Music |url=https://archive.org/details/RAMGPL1987 |via=Internet Archive}} She adjudicated the Leslie England Prize and Lloyd Hartey Prize in 1984,{{cite book |author= |date=1984 |title=1984 Graduation And Prizegiving |url=https://archive.org/details/RAMGPL1984 |via=Internet Archive}} the Edna Bralesford Prizes in 1986, and the Evelyn German Prize in 1987.
Anderson was awarded the British Empire Medal in the 2017 New Year Honours, for services to music.{{London Gazette |issue=61803 |date=31 December 2016 |page=N27}}{{cite news |author= |date=31 December 2016 |title=New Year Honours in full |url=https://www.thetimes.com/uk/article/new-year-honours-lqrsmqppl |work=The Times |access-date=1 May 2023}}
=Former students=
Anderson's former students include Neil Cowley,{{cite news |last=Lindsay |first=Bruce |date=26 April 2010 |title=Neil Cowley: A Rock and Roll Take on Jazz |url=https://www.allaboutjazz.com/neil-cowley-a-rock-and-roll-take-on-jazz-neil-cowley-by-bruce-lindsay |work=All About Jazz |access-date=1 May 2023}} Sir John Tavener{{cite book |last1=Haymes |first1=Brian |last2=Kidd |first2=Richard L. |date=16 March 2020 |title=Communion, Covenant, and Creativity: An Approach to the Communion of Saints through the Arts |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZNXaDwAAQBAJ |via=Google Books |publisher=Wipf and Stock Publishers|isbn=9781532668654 }} and Lucy Parham.{{cite web |url=https://melaniespanswick.com/2012/12/16/lucy-parham-in-conversation-with-melanie-spanswick/ |title=Lucy Parham in conversation with Melanie Spanswick |last=Spanswick |first=Melanie |date=16 December 2012 |website=Melanie Spanswick |access-date=1 May 2023}}
In Notes from a Small Soprano, Anderson's former pupil Lesley Garrett describes the influence of her professorship.
{{cquote|"She was the most spirited and lively professor on the entire staff and she understood me better than anyone. Tiny, raven-haired and feisty, she attacked life with the same passionate, electrifying energy that she used when she played the piano and she played wonderfully. She became my unofficial tutor and confidante and is still, to this day, a great friend."{{cite book |last=Garrett |first=Lesley |author-link=Lesley Garrett |year=2001 |title=Notes from a Small Soprano |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=q8TyHAAACAAJ |via=Google Books |publisher=Coronet |page=64 |isbn=9780340768112}}}}
Sarah Balfour, another of Anderson's pupils, describes her lasting impact.
{{cquote|"Jean not only taught me how to play and perform, but I also learnt from her, vital life lessons. All of her teachings will stay with me forever. She towers with strength and wisdom, and is truly inspirational. She handles the turbulence and challenges of life with dignity, poise and composure. She has given me the confidence to succeed and I am indebted to her."{{cite web |url=https://www.ltgawards.com/de-wedding.html?id=an-interview-with-sarah-balfour |title=An Interview with Sarah Balfour |author= |website=Luxury Travel Guide Awards |publisher=Corporate LiveWire |access-date=1 May 2023}}}}
Death
Anderson died in London on 12 August 2020, at the age of 97.{{cite web |url=https://www.ancestry.com.au/discoveryui-content/view/8678088:60630 |title=Mrs Margaret Jean Hunt in the England and Wales, death index, 1989–2022 |publisher=Ancestry.com Operations |year=2014 |access-date=8 January 2024 |url-access=subscription}} She had been predeceased by her husband, Frank Hunt, in 1992.{{cite web |url=https://www.ancestry.com.au/discoveryui-content/view/23768596:1904 |title=Francis Iveson Robeson Hunt in the England & Wales, national probate calendar (index of wills and administrations), 1858–1995 |year=2010 |publisher=Ancestry.com Operations |access-date=8 January 2024 |url-access=subscription}}
References
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Category:Musicians from Christchurch
Category:People educated at St Margaret's College
Category:New Zealand emigrants to the United Kingdom
Category:Alumni of the Royal Academy of Music
Category:Academics of the Royal Academy of Music
Category:New Zealand classical pianists
Category:New Zealand women classical pianists
Category:20th-century New Zealand pianists
Category:21st-century pianists
Category:20th-century women pianists
Category:21st-century women pianists