Melbourne Conservatorium of Music - Theses
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ItemThe influence of Dr. A. E. Floyd as music critic and broadcaster on musical culture in Australia 1915-1974( 2001)Alfred Ernest Floyd arrived in Australia from the United Kingdom in February 1915 to take up an appointment as Organist and Master of the Choristers at St. Paul's Cathedral in Melbourne. Floyd devoted his professional life to the performance and promulgation of music. From the time of his arrival in Australia he exerted an enormous influence as educator, teacher, lecturer, examiner, adjudicator, organist, choir-trainer, writer, composer, music critic and broadcaster. Floyd brought the music at St Paul's to a pinnacle of musical performance and professionalism. At St. Paul's he trained many who later went on either to establish musical careers or to become active and useful amateur musicians. The focus of his promotion of music for all was education in the widest sense. This he undertook through the various media (press, radio and television) and through public lectures and music appreciation classes. As music critic for The Argus and as a broadcaster Floyd established a significant following as a commentator and entertainer and he was influential in shaping public taste in music and attitudes towards music. His work in schools, particularly at Melbourne Church of England Girls' Grammar School and at the Methodist Ladies' College engendered a joy of making and listening to music and many past pupils of these institutions have strong and fond memories of his classes and visits. The legacy of Floyd's personal papers now housed in the Grainger Museum at the University of Melbourne, radio archives, newspapers, journals, and the reminiscences of those who worked with him professionally, provided the material for an examination of his influence on Australian music culture from his arrival in Australia in 1915 until shortly before his death in 1974.