About
Miriam Hyde was one of the foremost Australian pianists, composers and music educators of the twentieth century. Born in Adelaide, she graduated with BMus at the age of 18 and won the Elder Overseas Scholarship to the Royal College of Music, London, where she studied piano and composition, 1932-35.
Soon after returning to Adelaide in 1936, she moved to Sydney, where she remained and became busy as a pianist, composer, teacher, examiner, lecturer and writer of numerous articles and analyses for music journals. She was instrumental in the foundation of the Fellowship of Australian Composers, was an active long-time member of the Advisory Board of the AMEB (Australian Music Examinations Board) and the Council of the Music Teachers’ Association of NSW, of which she was made Patron.
In her lifetime, she was known chiefly as a writer of piano pieces used by students. Commercial publishers were little interested in works that they deemed “difficult” and might not sell well. However, her output was far broader and prolific – chamber music for most string and woodwind instruments, orchestral (two concertos, four overtures and others), over 50 songs and some choral works.
Australian Youth Orchestra
