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 Greenwic ...

, 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 Philip Cipriani Hambly Potter (3 October 1792 – 26 September 1871) was an English musician. He was a composer, pianist, conductor and teacher. After an early career as a performer and composer, he was a teacher in the Royal Academy of Musi ...

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 betterme ...

, the Apollonicon rooms, and subsequently

St. Martin's Hall The Queen's Theatre in London was established in 1867 as a theatre on the site of St Martin's Hall, a large concert room that had opened in 1850. It stood on the corner of Long Acre (formerly Charles Street) and Endell Street, with entrances in ...

, several thousand adults passed through his classes; while, for many years past, he has been the sole musical instructor at the Training Schools,

Battersea Battersea is a large district in south London, part of the London Borough of Wandsworth, England. It is centred southwest of Charing Cross and extends along the south bank of the River Thames. It includes the Battersea Park. History Batte ...

, 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

Hockeril Hockerill Anglo-European College (formerly known as Hockerill School) is an international state boarding school with academy status located in Bishop's Stortford. In 1850, Hockerill was founded as a teacher-training college for schoolmistre ...

l; 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 Queen's College is an independent school for girls aged 11–18 with an adjoining prep school for girls aged 4–11 located in the City of Westminster, London. Founded in 1848 by theologian and social reformer Frederick Denison Maurice along w ...

. 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