Great name in music not lost with time
 Music
The life of a great man in the history of the ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥ of Adelaide - and of ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥n music - Professor E. Harold Davies, has been revealed in a book written by one of his former students. More Than A Musician, by Dr Doreen Bridges, is a tribute to Professor Davies, who was Elder Professor of Music and Director of the from 1919 until his death in 1947. Dr Bridges (nee Jacobs) is one of the few surviving alumni who studied with him. The recently hosted a discussion by Dr Bridges about her book with the current Elder Professor of Music and Director of the Conservatorium, Professor Charles Bodman Rae. Dr Bridges discussed how she had been able to explore the many facets of Professor Davies's life and work thanks to Davies's youngest daughter, Mrs Catharine Mary Cheesman, who had her father's papers. Although musically conservative, Professor Davies was considered an outstanding teacher and lecturer. His association with the ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥ began in 1883 when he enrolled in the degree. After becoming only the second graduate in Music, he requested that the ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥ prepare regulations for the degree of Doctor in Music, and in 1902 was the first to obtain this degree from an ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥n university. When the Faculty of Music was created in 1906, Davies was appointed a member, even though he was not then a ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥ teacher. He was also a member of the ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥'s Music Examination Board and later of the ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥n Music Examinations Board. Davies revitalised the Elder Conservatorium following World War I when he became Elder Professor of Music in 1919. One of Davies's many interests was radio broadcasting. In 1925, before the advent of the ABC, he was a member of the ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥ Council's three-person subcommittee on broadcasting. He arranged fortnightly music broadcasts from Elder Hall which he compered. Subsequently, Davies became a regular ABC broadcaster, discussing not only music but also philosophical, ethical and social subjects. From 1927-30 he was a member of the ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥ Anthropological Society and accompanied his scientific colleagues to Central ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥ and Eyre Peninsula to conduct Aboriginal studies. His task was to record Aboriginal songs, and the field notebooks and papers that he published were to reveal him as an ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥n pioneer in ethnomusicology. He was elected a member of the Royal Society of SA for his work. More Than A Musician is published by and sells for a recommended retail price of $34.95, plus postage and handling.
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