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Louise Grimes

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Louise Grimes
ATCL LTCL L.Mus.T.C.L. FTCL
Louise Grimes in 1937
Born6 September 1907
Lutwyche, Queensland
Died5 September 1990
Chermside, Queensland
NationalityAustralian
EducationB.A.
Alma mater
Occupations

Louise Catherine Grimes ATCL LTCL L.Mus.T.C.L. FTCL was an Australian musician, teacher, organist, and choir mistress. She was a prominent figure in the Brisbane music community and was notable for being the first woman organist at St John's Cathedral.

Early life and education

Grimes was born in Lutwyche, Queensland in 1907 to Lilian Grimes and Alfred Kingsford Grimes.[1][2] She attended Windsor State and Brisbane Girls Grammar School and received her early musical education from Ethel Martin.[1][3] Grimes was also a student with organist George Sampson for 12 years, from whom she received her choral and organ training.[3][4]

In 1930, Grimes became the first woman in Queensland to pass the Licentiate in Music Examination of Trinity College London and qualified as a Fellow.[5] In 1937, she became the first woman in Queensland to graduate with a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Adelaide.[6] She achieved a distinction and was one of only two people to hold this degree in Queensland at the time. It was reported that along with university and examination fees, Grimes had to pay for outside tuition and achieved her degree without being provided with lectures from the University.[3]

In addition to her Music degree, Grimes began an arts course at Queensland University in 1937.[7]

Broadcast and teaching

Grimes was appointed to a Department of Public Instruction committee in 1924 to work with radio station 4QG to supervise educational broadcasting.[7][8] She broadcast these educational shows from 1938-52.[1] Through the late 1920s and the 1930s, she regularly performed two-piano recitals with Helen Collins for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.[9][10][11][12]

In the 1930s, Grimes taught at Windsor State School where she was music mistress with a particular focus on the child voice. She directed the musical education of more than 1,100 children including junior and senior girls' choirs and boys' choir of 100 voices each, and an orchestra of 25 violinists.[6][13] She stated that she did not want to take the children into the public eye too frequently, believing that was better for the children's characters.[3]

Grimes was also conductor of Brisbane Girls Grammar School Old Girls' Association choir.[6] In 1936 she conducted a performance of Coleridge-Taylor's Hiawatha music in Albert Hall, Brisbane and employed members of the Brisbane Grammar School Old Girls' Association and members of the Windsor Choir.[14][15]

Grimes gave a number of Brisbane premiere performances with her choirs. In 1937, she conducted a performance of Benjamin Britten's Saint Nicolas cantata St John's Cathedral with boy's choir, which was the first performance of the work in Brisbane.[7] She also gave the first performance of Britten's Noye's Fludde in the city.[1]

From 1941-47, Grimes was appointed to the Windsor State School's music department, overseeing the musical education in Queensland. In 1957, she became a lecturer at Queensland Teachers' College. She moved to Kedron Park Teachers' College in 1960, where she established the music department and became dean of women.[1]

Organist

Grimes was appointed organist and choir mistress of St John's Cathedral in 1947 after supervising the Cathedral for 12 months. She was the first woman to be appointed to the Cathedral.[8][16] All of the other 19 other applicants for the position were men.[17] It was reported that at the time, Grimes was the only woman organist of a major cathedral in the British Empire.[18] After being appointed organist at St. John's, she resigned from her position of choir mistress of St. Alban's Church.[19]

At St John's, Grimes reformed the music library, unearthing previously unsung Tudor choral music and promoting the singing of twentieth century repertoire.[1] She conducted carol services at St John's every year beginning on the first Friday in December in 1947. The services became a key part of the Brisbane Christmas season.[4][20][21][22]

Grimes often gave recitals and performed in concerts as an organist. She gave a recital at St Andrew's Cathedral, Sydney in September 1956 as part of a larger programme of concerts, including the St Matthew Passion, and also played organ in an all-women concert in 1945 for the reception of the Duchess of Gloucester held by the National Council of Women.[23][24]

Grimes retired as an organist in 1960 and retired completely in 1973. Once retired, she moved to Jimboomba and took up part-time farming as a hobby.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Boughen, Robert K. "Grimes, Louise Catherine (1907–1990)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Retrieved 26 May 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  2. ^ "St. John's Selects Woman Organist". The Telegraph. 7 May 1947. p. 1. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
  3. ^ a b c d "First Woman in State to Gain Music Degree". The Telegraph. 24 November 1937. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
  4. ^ a b Paterson, Betty (28 November 1954). "Two women will play cathedral organs". Sunday Mail. p. 13. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
  5. ^ "Miss Louise Grimes". The Telegraph. 21 November 1930. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
  6. ^ a b c "Women in the world". Australian Woman's Mirror. 28 December 1937. p. 20. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
  7. ^ a b c "North of twenty-eight". The Bulletin. 8 December 1937. p. 37. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
  8. ^ a b "Personal". Maryborough Chronicle. 8 May 1947. p. 5. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
  9. ^ "Interstate Programmes, Saturday, September 7". Wireless Weekly. 6 September 1929. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
  10. ^ "Interstate Programmes, Thursday, May 1". Wireless Weekly. 25 April 1930. p. 54. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
  11. ^ "Programmes for all Stations". Wireless Weekly. 6 June 1930. p. 44. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
  12. ^ "Two Piano Recital". The Telegraph. 1 May 1933. p. 10. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
  13. ^ "That Reminds Me". The Courier-Mail. 25 November 1937. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
  14. ^ "Scenes from Hiawatha in costume". The Telegraph. 10 August 1936. p. 11. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
  15. ^ "Songs of Hiawatha". The Telegraph. 25 July 1936. p. 21. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
  16. ^ "Woman Organist: Precedent Created". Daily Mercury. 8 May 1947. p. 1. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
  17. ^ "This is her job..." Truth. 3 July 1949. p. 34. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
  18. ^ "Woman organist breaks church custom". The Courier-Mail. 31 March 1954. p. 8. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
  19. ^ "Farewell to choir mistress". The Telegraph. 16 May 1947. p. 4. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
  20. ^ Briggs, Ernest (5 December 1954). "'Finest'". The Sunday Mail. p. 26. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
  21. ^ "Christmas Party". Brisbane Telegraph. 3 December 1949. p. 6. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
  22. ^ "Their message - 'PEACE'". The Courier-Mail. 3 December 1948. p. 5. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
  23. ^ "Full house here for Duchess". Sunday Mail. 3 June 1945. p. 3. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
  24. ^ "Choirs from Three States In St. Matthew Passion". ABC Weekly. 1 September 1956. p. 25. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
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