Gallery - George Leavis Allan (1826-1897)
George Leavis Allan (b London, 3 Sep 1826, d St Kilda, Vic., 1 Apr
1897), singing master, and music retailer and publisher. Emigrated
to Victoria in 1852. Having been trained in Hullah's 'fixed-doh'
method of teaching music, Allan was the first singing master appointed
by the Demoninational Schools Board in 1853. Although his later appointment
as principal singing master concluded under the Board of Education in 1862,
he continued to be influential in school music as an examiner of prospective
music teachers. In 1863, Allan joined the music warehouse of Wilkie
and Webster, becoming a partner and later its sole proprietor. The
business became Allan & Co. in 1881 by which time it was the largest
music retailer and publisher in the south hemisphere.
Biographical summary by Robin S. Stevens.
References:
Game, P., The Music Sellers (Melbourne, Hawthorne Press, 1976).
Stevens, R. S., Music in State-Supported Education in New South
Wales and Victoria, 1848-1920 (PhD thesis, University of Melbourne,
1978). University Microfilms International, Ann Arbor, Michigan,
1980, No. 80-24820.
