Background
She was born in South Norwood, London, the daughter of composer Samuel Coleridge-Taylor.
She was born in South Norwood, London, the daughter of composer Samuel Coleridge-Taylor.
She was then the first female conductor of His Majesty’s Ship Royal Marines and a frequent guest conductor of the British Broadcasting Corporation Orchestra and the London Symphony Orchestra.
She wrote her first composition, Goodbye Butterfly, at the age of twelve. In 1933, she made her debut as a conductor at the Royal Albert Hall. Her compositions include large-scale orchestral works, as well as songs, keyboard, and chamber music
In 1957, she wrote the Ceremonial March to celebrate Ghana"s independence.
Her other well-regarded works include a Piano Concerto in F minor (Sussex Landscape, The Hills, To April, In Memoriam Royal Air Force), Wyndore (Windover) for choir and orchestra, and Golden Wedding Ballet Suite for orchestra. She dropped her first name after a divorce, thereafter going by Avril professionally.
She spent her latter life in South Africa, where she lived under apartheid. Originally she was supportive of racial segregation, passing for white.
However subsequently she could not work as a composer or conductor because of her one-quarter black African ancestry.
She also wrote under the pseudonym Peter Riley.