DameJoan Hammond
Early life[edit]
Joan Hilda Hood Hammond was born and baptised in Christchurch, New Zealand.[1] Her father, Samuel Hood, was born in England. He married his first wife, Edith, then left her and took up with Hammond's mother, Hilda Blandford, by whom he also had two sons in England. He informally added "Hammond" to his name and they represented themselves as "Mr and Mrs Samuel H. Hammond" although they were not married at the time.[2]
Hammond was born in May 1912, not long after the family had arrived in New Zealand. She was six months old when her family moved again, to Sydney, Australia. Her parents finally married in Sydney on 25 May 1927, the day after her 15th birthday, although there is no evidence Samuel's first wife had died by that time, or that they had ever divorced.[3]
Hammond attended Pymble Ladies' College and excelled in both sports and music. She studied violin and singing at the New South Wales State Conservatorium of Music in Sydney, and played violin for three years with the Sydney Philharmonic Orchestra before studying singing in Vienna in 1936.[4]
Later life[edit]
A heart attack in 1965 forced Hammond to retire from the stage. Her final performance was at the funeral of her "guardian angel", Lady Gowrie, on 30 July 1965, at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle. This occasion was also memorable for the fact that Hammond was the first woman ever granted royal permission to sing in that chapel.[8] She was interviewed for the BBC radio programme Desert Island Discs in 1970.[9]
Hammond retired to Australia. She became patron and a life member of the Melbourne-based Victorian Opera Company (since 1976, the Victorian State Opera – VSO), founded in 1962 by Leonard Spira. She was the VSO's artistic director from 1971 until 1976 and remained on the board until 1985. Working with the then general manager, Peter Burch, she invited the young conductor Richard Divall to become the company's musical director in 1972.[10] She joined the Victorian Council of the Arts, was a member of the Australia Council for the Arts opera advisory panel, and was an honorary life member of Opera Australia. She was important to the success of both the VSO and Opera Australia.
Hammond embarked on a second career as a voice teacher after her performance career ended. In 1975, she was appointed head of vocal studies at the Victorian College of the Arts, a post she held until 1989.[11] In that time she trained an extraordinary number of Australian singers who had successful careers in Australia and on the international stage. Among her notable pupils are sopranos Helen Adams[12] and Cheryl Barker, baritone Peter Coleman-Wright,[13] and tenor Steve Davislim.[14]
In 1983, her home at Aireys Inlet was destroyed by the Ash Wednesday bushfires and she lost all her possessions including the memorabilia of a lifetime.[15]
Honours[edit]
In the Queen's Birthday Honours of 1953, she was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for her singing.[17]
In the Queen's Birthday Honours of 1963 she was promoted to Commander (CBE).[18] In the Queen's Birthday Honours of 1974 she was promoted within the order to Dame Commander (DBE) for distinguished services to music.[19] She received the Sir Charles Santley memorial gift from the Worshipful Company of Musicians, London, in 1970.[11]
In the New Year's Day Honours of 1972 she was made a Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) for services to young opera singers.[20]
Legacy[edit]
In 1986, the Victoria State Opera created the Dame Joan Hammond Award with Moffatt Oxenbould as its inaugural recipient.[4][21]
In 1989, the Hammond residence at Deakin University was opened by her and named in her honour.[22]