Juliette Louise Alvin (1897 – 30 September 1982) was a French-British

cellist The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a bowed (sometimes plucked and occasionally hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually tuned in perfect fifths: from low to high, C2, G2, D3 ...

viola da gamba The viol (), viola da gamba (), or informally gamba, is any one of a family of bowed, fretted, and stringed instruments with hollow wooden bodies and pegboxes where the tension on the strings can be increased or decreased to adjust the pitc ...

player, and pioneering

music therapist Music therapy, an allied health profession, "is the clinical and evidence-based use of music interventions to accomplish individualized goals within a therapeutic relationship by a credentialed professional who has completed an approved music th ...

Biograph

She was born in

Limoges, France Limoges (, , ; oc, Lemòtges, locally ) is a city and commune, and the prefecture of the Haute-Vienne department in west-central France. It was the administrative capital of the former Limousin region. Situated on the first western foothills ...

, and studied at the

Conservatoire de Paris The Conservatoire de Paris (), also known as the Paris Conservatory, is a college of music and dance founded in 1795. Officially known as the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (CNSMDP), it is situated in the avenue ...

, where she was awarded the Premier Prix d'Excellence and the Mèdaille d'Or. She studied under a master class arrangement with

Pablo Casals Pau Casals i Defilló (Catalan: ; 29 December 187622 October 1973), usually known in English by his Castilian Spanish name Pablo Casals,

. Her debut recital took place in 1927 at London's

Wigmore Hall Wigmore Hall is a concert hall located at 36 Wigmore Street, London. Originally called Bechstein Hall, it specialises in performances of chamber music, early music, vocal music and song recitals. It is widely regarded as one of the world's leadin ...

. She married

William A. Robson William Alexander Robson (14 July 1895 – 12 May 1980) was a British academic who was an early and influential scholar of public administration while serving as a lecturer and professor at the London School of Economics. Upon his death, ''The ...

, a British academic who became an early and influential scholar of public administration at the

London School of Economics , mottoeng = To understand the causes of things , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £240.8 million (2021) , budget = £391.1 millio ...

, in the year 1929. In that same year she became a British citizen. The couple had three children. She founded the Society of Music Therapy and Remedial Music in 1958, (later renamed the British Society for Music Therapy), and, in 1967, initiated Britain's first music therapy training program at the

Guildhall School of Music and Drama The Guildhall School of Music and Drama is a conservatoire and drama school located in the City of London, United Kingdom. Established in 1880, the school offers undergraduate and postgraduate training in all aspects of classical music and jazz ...

in London. She also promoted music therapy around the world. Alvin visited Japan in 1967 and 1969, sharing theory and practice with Japanese music therapy pioneers.

Publications

Alvin authored several books, including ''Music Therapy for the Handicapped Child'' in 1965, ''Music Therapy'' in 1966, and ''Music for the Autistic Child'' in 1978.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alvin, Juliette 1982 deaths 1897 births People from Limoges French cellists British cellists Music therapists 20th-century cellists