Edward Collett May (October 29, 1806-Jan. 2, 1887) was an English music educator.
Life
He was born in
Greenwich
Greenwich ( , ,) is a town in south-east London, England, within the ceremonial county of Greater London. It is situated east-southeast of Charing Cross.
Greenwich is notable for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich ...
, where his father was a
shipbuilder
Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and other floating vessels. It normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation that traces its roots to befor ...
. His first teacher was his brother Henry, an amateur musician and composer of considerable ability. When about fifteen years of age,
Thomas Adams, then organist of St. Paul's, Deptford, and an intimate friend of the May family, struck by the promise and intelligence of Edward, offered to take him as a pupil. This offer was, of course, willingly accepted, and for several years he received regular instruction in composition and organ-playing from him. Subsequently he became a pupil of
Cipriani Potter for the piano, and of
Domenico Crivelli for singing. In 1837 he was appointed organist of
Greenwich Hospital, an office he held till the abolition of the institution in 1869.
May's career as a music educator grew out of his accidental attendance at one of many lectures on popular instruction in vocal music given by
John Pyke Hullah
John Pyke Hullah (27 June 1812 – 21 February 1884) was an English composer and teacher of music, whose promotion of vocal training is associated with the singing-class movement.
Life and career
Hullah was born at Worcester. He was a pupil ...
about the year 1841. From that time on he devoted himself enthusiastically and exclusively to such teaching, and taught a tremendous number of students; Hullah claimed that "to no individual, of any age or country, have so many persons of all ages and of both sexes been indebted for their musical skill."
At one institution alone, the
National Society's Central School, more than a thousand teachers and many more children have been instructed by him. At
Exeter Hall
Exeter Hall was a large public meeting place on the north side of the Strand in central London, opposite where the Savoy Hotel now stands. From 1831 until 1907 Exeter Hall was the venue for many great gatherings by promoters of human bettermen ...
, the
Apollonicon The Apollonicon was presented to the public the first time in 1817 built by the English Organ builders Flight & Robson in London.
It was an automatic playing machine with about 1,900 pipes and 45 organ stops with a technic familiar to the barrel org ...
rooms, and subsequently
St. Martin's Hall, several thousand adults passed through his classes; while, for many years past, he has been the sole musical instructor at the
Training Schools,
Battersea, St. Mark's,
Whitelands,
Home and Colonial
Home and Colonial Stores was once one of the United Kingdom's largest retail chains. Its formation of a vast chain of retail stores in the late 1920s is seen as the first step in the development of a UK food retail market dominated by a small num ...
, and
Hockerill; institutions from which upwards of 250 teachers are annually sent forth to elementary schools. He was appointed Professor of Vocal Music in
Queen's College, London.
His daughter, Florence May, was known in London as a pianoforte player of considerable cultivation and power.
Notes
{{DEFAULTSORT:May, Edward Collett
British music educators
English composers
1806 births
1887 deaths