John Thomson Hall (7 February 1841 – 2 December 1883), was an Australian violinist.

History

Hall was born in Sydney, the eldest son of John Hall, and began violin lessons at age seven. He loved music, and was playing in public before the age of twelve. He then studied under the respected violinist Caranzani del Valle, and at age 24 he was appointed

orchestra leader The concertmaster (from the German ''Konzertmeister''), first chair (U.S.) or leader (UK) is the principal first violin player in an orchestra (clarinet or oboe in a concert band). After the conductor, the concertmaster is the most significant ...

with Lyster's Opera Company. Five years later was appointed musical director, and produced some of the finest operas that had been heard in Australia. He was closely associated with the pianist

Alfred Anderson Alfred Anderson may refer to: * Alfred Anderson (American football) (born 1961), former American football running back * Alfred Anderson (entrepreneur) (1888–1956), Australian butcher and entrepreneur * Alfred Anderson (pianist) (1848–1876), Au ...

, and during

Ilma de Murska ''Ilma'' is a genus of skippers in the family Hesperiidae. It is monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include s ...

's 1875 Australian tour both accompanied the celebrated soprano, who married Anderson shortly before he died. In this connection, he has been confused with the conductor

John Thomas Hill General John Thomas Hill (10 January 1811 – 15 April 1902) was a senior British Army officer. Military career He was born in Pilton, Devon and commissioned as an ensign in the 32nd Regiment of Foot on 13 March 1827. He was promoted to lieute ...

who , like Anderson, married De Murska shortly before he died. He was appointed

at the

Theatre Royal, Adelaide The Theatre Royal on Hindley Street, Adelaide was a significant venue in the history of the stage and movie theater, cinema in South Australia. After a small predecessor of the same name on Franklin Street, Adelaide, Franklin Street (built 1838), ...

in 1873, and maintained that position until shortly before his death.

Compositions

*''St Agatha'' (sacred march) 1876 *"Amy" (

galop In dance, the galop, named after the fastest running gait of a horse (see Gallop), a shortened version of the original term galoppade, is a lively country dance, introduced in the late 1820s to Parisian society by the Duchesse de Berry and popu ...

)

Family

Hall was married to Amy Hall and had children. They faced destitution, and in July 1884 Mrs Hall sold their home at Rundle Street,

Kent Town Kent Town is an inner suburb of Adelaide, South Australia. It is located in the City of Norwood Payneham & St Peters local government area. History Kent Town was named for Benjamin Archer Kent (1808 – 25 November 1864), a medical practition ...

and household effects. After Hall's death, his brother George Hall took the post of the Theatre Royal's orchestra leader. He returned to Sydney in 1886 and was performing at a high level in 1887 but nothing further has been found.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hall, John Thomson 1841 births 1883 deaths Australian classical violinists Colony of New South Wales people