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Emmeline M. D. Woolley

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Emmeline Mary Dogherty Woolley (1843 – 18 March 1908), commonly referred to as E. M. Woolley, was an English-born Australian musician and benefactor.[1]

History[edit]

Emmeline Mary Woolley in 1895

Woolley was born in Hereford,[2] England, eldest of five daughters of Mary Margaret Woolley, née Turner (died 21 September 1886),[3] and her husband John Woolley, who in 1850 was headmaster of King Edward VI Grammar School, Norwich.[4] Blanche Mary Elizabeth Woolley (1845–1906), mother of Freda Du Faur, was a sister.

In 1851 her father was offered a position of inaugural Professor of Logic and Classics and Principal at the University of Sydney,[a] and in 1852 the family emigrated to Sydney,[4] where their five daughters were educated at home. Woolley was a talented pianist but had little access to high culture in Sydney, so she was sent to Florence, where she became familiar with the masses of Palestrina, Pergolesi and Cherubini. She studied under Alessandro Kraus the Elder (1820–1904), Carlo Duccè (Ducci) and Pietro Romani (1791–1877),[1] later with Julius von Kolb,[b] from whom she learned much of Liszt's approach to composition and performance.[4] After five years' absence she returned to Sydney.[2]

In 1866 her father died in the sinking of the SS London, leaving the family without a source of income. His friends and colleagues supported his widow with generous contributions, and she liquidated some valuable furniture.[6] Woolley turned to teaching, which she preferred to the concert stage. She also served as organist to St John's Anglican Church, Darlinghurst, and coached the church choral society. She did much to popularize the works of Grieg, also Gounod, Schubert, Spohr, Clara Schumann, Mann, Brahms, and Rubinstein.[4]

Ethel C. Pedley[edit]

In 1882 a close personal and artistic collaboration developed between Woolley and Ethel Pedley, a niece and pupil of Mme Sainton-Dolby, supplying piano accompaniment to Pedley's choir of amateur vocalists[7] who contributed to popular concerts à la "People's Concert"[c] at the Sydney Sailors' Home.[8] On occasion, Pedley sang in the choir at St John's church, where Woolley was organist,[9] also at concerts in aid of the National Shipwreck Society, of which Woolley was an organiser.[10] And Woolley supported Pedley's various concerts as accompanist, to universal acclaim.[11] In 1885 they toured Europe, attending concerts and visiting conservatories. They were invited to a reception in London for Franz Liszt.

In 1884 or earlier,[12] Pedley founded and, assisted by Woolley, trained the St Cecilia Choir, an all-female society of some 30 members which, apart from benefiting its members, raised funds for charities such as the Sydney City Mission.[13] After ten years, the choir was still going strong, and on 11 June 1895 gave the first public performance of Woolley's cantata The Captive Soul, to text by Pedley, at the Oddfellows' Temple, Elizabeth Street.[14]

They shared a house in Darlinghurst, where Pedley died on 6 August 1898, aged 39. She is remembered today for her book for children, Dot and the Kangaroo, published posthumously.

St John's Church[edit]

Woolley was organist for St John's (Anglican) Church, Darlinghurst, for 10 years.[2]

In 1884 she established an Organ Fund, soliciting donations and raising money by concerts.[15] A Hill and Son organ, built in 1885, was installed.[16]

Death[edit]

Woolley died at her home, 27 Upper William Street, North Sydney, after months of painful illness, having lost the use of her hands. Following a service at St John's Church, Darlinghurst, her remains were interred at the Waverley Cemetery.

Compositions[edit]

The Captive Soul cantata to words by Ethel Pedley.

Benefactions[edit]

Emmeline Woolley Scholarship, tuition in England for three years, valued at 100,[d] was awarded annually through a competition run by the Associated Board of the Royal Academy of Music and the Royal College of Music of London, England.

Maggie Chisholm
Kathleen Narelle, daughter of contralto Marie Narelle
K. Fitzgerald 1919[17]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ Sydney University, Australia's first, was inaugurated 11 October 1852.[5]
  2. ^ Kolb, aka Jules de Kolb, was a student of Franz Liszt and professor at the Conservatory in Munich c. 1853.
  3. ^ In England, concerts for the poor, initiated by the Kyrie Society and supported by Henry Leslie, Mme Sainton-Dolby, Lady Folkestone, and other leaders in London music circles.[8]
  4. ^ The recipient was responsible for her own travel expenses, accommodation during school holidays, and expenses attendant on stage appearances. As discussed in Elder Scholarship, this meant the prize was of no use to students from less wealthy families.

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Rutledge, Martha. "Emmeline Mary Woolley (1843–1908)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. ISBN 978-0-522-84459-7. ISSN 1833-7538. OCLC 70677943. Retrieved 18 February 2012.
  2. ^ a b c ""The Captive Soul."". The Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser. Vol. LIX, no. 1825. New South Wales, Australia. 29 June 1895. p. 1319. Retrieved 12 June 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  3. ^ "Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction". New South Wales Government Gazette. No. 650. New South Wales, Australia. 16 November 1886. p. 7936. Retrieved 12 June 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  4. ^ a b c d "The Late Miss Woolley". Australian Town and Country Journal. Vol. LXXVI, no. 1990. New South Wales, Australia. 25 March 1908. p. 41. Retrieved 11 June 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  5. ^ "The Building of Sydney". Sunday Times (Sydney). No. 1405. New South Wales, Australia. 22 December 1912. p. 23. Retrieved 12 June 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  6. ^ "Advertising". The Sydney Morning Herald. Vol. LVI, no. 9138. New South Wales, Australia. 4 September 1867. p. 6. Retrieved 12 June 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  7. ^ "News of the Day". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 13, 874. New South Wales, Australia. 16 September 1882. p. 11. Retrieved 12 June 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  8. ^ a b "Concerts". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 13, 905. New South Wales, Australia. 23 October 1882. p. 9. Retrieved 12 June 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  9. ^ "News". The Sydney Daily Telegraph. No. 1142. New South Wales, Australia. 5 March 1883. p. 2. Retrieved 12 June 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  10. ^ "Amusements". The Sydney Daily Telegraph. No. 1204. New South Wales, Australia. 16 May 1883. p. 3. Retrieved 12 June 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  11. ^ "Miss Pedley's Concert". Goulburn Evening Penny Post. New South Wales, Australia. 17 January 1884. p. 2. Retrieved 12 June 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  12. ^ "Advertising". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 14, 300. New South Wales, Australia. 26 January 1884. p. 3. Retrieved 12 June 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  13. ^ "The Mission Concert". The Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser. Vol. XL, no. 1319. New South Wales, Australia. 17 October 1885. p. 846. Retrieved 12 June 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  14. ^ "Musical "At Home"". The Daily Telegraph. No. 4984. New South Wales, Australia. 12 June 1895. p. 3. Retrieved 12 June 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  15. ^ "Amusements". The Daily Telegraph. No. 1680. New South Wales, Australia. 25 November 1884. p. 8. Retrieved 12 June 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  16. ^ Dr Kelvin Hastle. "St John's Anglican Church". Sydney Organ Society. Retrieved 12 June 2024.
  17. ^ "Sisters of Mercy, Golden Grove". Freeman's Journal. Vol. LXXI, no. 3688. New South Wales, Australia. 27 November 1919. p. 23. Retrieved 12 June 2024 – via National Library of Australia. Here spelled "Emeline"


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