Sheila Mary Nelson (5 March 1936 – 16 November 2020) was an English musician, music educator, writer and composer. She had played with the English Chamber Orchestra, the

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London, that performs and produces primarily classic works. The RPO was established by Thomas Beecham in 1946. In its early days, the orchestra secured profitable ...

and the Menuhin Festival Orchestra but was best known as a

violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...

and

viola The viola ( , also , ) is a string instrument that is bow (music), bowed, plucked, or played with varying techniques. Slightly larger than a violin, it has a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of ...

teacher. She is usually referred to as Sheila Nelson but appears in her published works as Sheila M. Nelson.

Biography

Nelson studied at the

Royal College of Music The Royal College of Music is a music school, conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the Undergraduate education, undergraduate to the Doctorate, doctoral level in a ...

and had a

B.Mus Bachelor of Music (BM or BMus) is an academic degree awarded by a college, university, or conservatory upon completion of a program of study in music. In the United States, it is a professional degree, and the majority of work consists of prescr ...

degree from

London University The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree- ...

. She also studied at the

University of Birmingham , mottoeng = Through efforts to heights , established = 1825 – Birmingham School of Medicine and Surgery1836 – Birmingham Royal School of Medicine and Surgery1843 – Queen's College1875 – Mason Science College1898 – Mason Univers ...

and in Denmark. In 1976 she went to the United States on a

Churchill Fellowship Winston Churchill Memorial Trusts (WCMT) are three independent but related living memorials to Sir Winston Churchill, based in the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand. They exist for the purpose of administering Churchill Fellowships, a ...

to study with the eminent

string String or strings may refer to: *String (structure), a long flexible structure made from threads twisted together, which is used to tie, bind, or hang other objects Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Strings'' (1991 film), a Canadian anim ...

pedagogue

Paul Rolland Paul Rolland, né Pali Reisman (November 21, 1911, Budapest – November 9, 1978, Illinois),Fanelli, Michael P. (2001) ''Paul Rolland: His teaching career and contributions to string pedagogy and education.'' (Doctoral Dissertation) Retrieved fro ...

, and in the 1980s directed an innovative group-teaching project in the

London Borough of Tower Hamlets The London Borough of Tower Hamlets is a London boroughs, London borough covering much of the traditional East End of London, East End. It was formed in 1965 from the merger of the former Metropolitan boroughs of the County of London, metropol ...

. The Tower Hamlets Project taught strings and piano to whole school classes in a deprived area of London, and was featured in a six-part TV documentary series, ''Beginners Please''. Nelson was co-author of the ''Essential String Method'' series and author/composer of many other music instruction and repertoire books, published by

Boosey & Hawkes Boosey & Hawkes is a British music publisher purported to be the largest specialist classical music publisher in the world. Until 2003, it was also a major manufacturer of brass, string and woodwind musical instruments. Formed in 1930 throu ...

. She was an Honorary Member of the

Royal Academy of Music The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is the oldest conservatoire in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the first Duke of ...

(Hon RAM), a distinction limited to 300 musicians. Nelson died aged 84 on 16 November 2020 having lived with Alzheimer's disease in her final years.

Publications

Nelson was a prolific writer and composer. Selected works include: * ''Christmas Tunes'' for strings * ''Technitunes'' for individual strings or ensemble * ''Octotunes'' for individual strings or ensemble * ''Quartet Club'' for string quartet * ''Stringsongs'' for violin/viola and piano * ''The Violin and Viola: History, Structure, Techniques.'' 1972 book republished 2003

References

External links

Special Sheila Nelson edition of ''Arco,''
the journal of the European String Teachers Association {{DEFAULTSORT:Nelson, Sheila Mary 1936 births 2020 deaths 20th-century classical composers British music educators British women classical composers Violin educators English violinists British women violinists 20th-century English composers 20th-century English women musicians British women music educators 21st-century violinists 21st-century English women musicians 20th-century British women composers