Thomas Grigg (28 August 1859 – January 1944) was a South Australian violinist, teacher and conductor.

History

Grigg was born in

Teignmouth Teignmouth ( ) is a seaside town, fishing port and civil parish in the English county of Devon. It is situated on the north bank of the estuary mouth of the River Teign, about 12 miles south of Exeter. The town had a population of 14,749 at the ...

, Devon and arrived in South Australia around 1878. He furthered his musical education under

Hermann Heinicke August Moritz Hermann Heinicke (21 July 1863 – 11 July 1949), only ever known as Hermann or Herr Heinicke, was a German-born violinist and music teacher in South Australia. He founded Heinicke's Grand Orchestra and was the first conductor of the ...

Gotthold Reimann Immanuel Gotthold Reimann RAM, CMB (13 January 1859 – 19 March 1932), generally known as I. G. Reimann or Gotthold Reimann, was a South Australian musician and teacher of music. He founded the Adelaide College of Music, which became the Elder C ...

's Adelaide College of Music (founded 1883), which became the

Elder Conservatorium The Elder Conservatorium of Music, also known as "The Con", is Australia's senior academy of music and is located in the centre of Adelaide, the capital of South Australia. It is named in honour of its benefactor, Sir Thomas Elder. Dating in ...

. He was a tutor with W. R. Knox's South Australian College of Music (founded 1895) at Priest's Buildings, off Flinders Street, whose staff also included T. H. Jones, Edward Howard, Lucy Stevenson, Evelyn Goss, Professor Macully, F. Bellizia. He taught many string players, notably

Harold S. Parsons Harold may refer to: People * Harold (given name), including a list of persons and fictional characters with the name * Harold (surname), surname in the English language * András Arató, known in meme culture as "Hide the Pain Harold" Arts a ...

, Harry Hutchins and Mrs. C. W. Chinner. He taught violin at the Methodist Ladies' College around 1905. He frequently appeared as a featured soloist or in duets at concerts, and was a member of the popular Adelaide String Quartet. He was for 28 years a member of the permanent orchestra attached to the Theatre Royal, served as leader and in 1893 or earlier became its conductor. He was conductor of the Adelaide Orchestral Society which, under management of

Charles Cawthorne Charles Witto-witto Cawthorne (1 July 1854 – 26 June 1925) was a businessman who, with his father founded Cawthorne and Co, music publishers and retailers in Adelaide, South Australia. He was a proficient musician and important in the history ...

, regularly gave concerts in aid of prominent causes, notably 26 annual benefits for

Minda Home Minda Incorporated, established in 1898, provides support to children and adults with disability in Adelaide, South Australia and is the largest non-Government disability support organisation in the state. The not-for-profit organisation offers ...

, held at the Exhibition Building. During the

Great War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

he performed in support of various patriotic causes. He was nominated one of the 15 notable musicians of South Australia of the late 19th and early 20th centuries:

Frederick Bevan Frederick Charles Bevan (1856 – 27 March 1939) was a singer and songwriter in England remembered as a teacher of singing in South Australia. History Bevan was born in London, and began his musical career as a chorister and one of the chief soloi ...

, E. Harold Davies, J. M. Dunn, Thomas Grigg,

, John Horner, E. H. Wallace Packer, Harold Parsons, W. R. Pybus, I. G. Reimann, William Silver,

C. J. Stevens Clysle Julius (C.J.) Stevens (8 December 1927 - 9 December 2021) was a writer. He published over 30 books (including poetry, short stories, non-fiction, and biography), and was published in hundreds of magazines. The United States Library of Co ...

, Oscar Taeuber,

Arthur Williamson Arthur Hamilton Williamson (26 July 1930 – 26 June 2020) was a Scottish professional footballer who made over 260 appearances in the Football League for Southend United as a right back. He made a record 230 consecutive appearances in all co ...

Family

Thomas Grigg (1859–1944) married Rachel Ellen Worthley (1859 – 17 October 1913) on 7 July 1879, had a home at 19 Robert Street North Unley. They had five daughters, none of whom married and mostly lived in the family home: *Etta Jane Worthley Grigg (25 July 1880 – 5 January 1945) was a fine viola player; taught and appeared on stage with her father. She was a foundation member in 1936 of the

Adelaide Symphony Orchestra The Adelaide Symphony Orchestra (ASO) is a South Australian performing arts organisation comprising 75 full-time musicians, established in 1936. Based in Adelaide, South Australia, the orchestra's primary performance venue is the Adelaide Town Ha ...

, sponsored by the

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

. She never married, died in Adelaide. *Mary Elizabeth Grigg (1882–1886) *Mabel "May" Grigg (1885–1969) was a painter, known as May Grigg. She studied under Hans Heysen, painted portraits. She won the

Melrose Prize The South Australian Society of Arts was a society for artists in South Australia, later with a royal warrant renamed The Royal South Australian Society of Arts in 1935. History A meeting of persons interested in the formation of a society for the ...

in 1921 for a portrait of her father, and took the prize again the following year. May Grigg later served as senior art mistress at Ballarat Technical Art School until 1945 when she returned to teach at the

South Australian School of Arts and Crafts The South Australian School of Design was an art school in the earliest days of the City of Adelaide, the progenitor of the South Australian School of Arts, a department of the University of South Australia. Origin In 1856 Charles Hill started ...

. The

State Library of South Australia The State Library of South Australia, or SLSA, formerly known as the Public Library of South Australia, located on North Terrace, Adelaide, is the official library of the Australian state of South Australia. It is the largest public research l ...

has a self-portrait by May Grigg. *Nellie Grigg (5 October 1888 – 1969) *Edith Grigg (26 March 1890 – 18 September 1916)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grigg, Thomas 1858 births 1944 deaths Australian music educators Australian violinists Australian conductors (music)