Jean Gérardy

[3] Gerardy was born in Spa, Liège, Belgium, a son of Dieudonné Gérardy, a professor at the conservatoire of Aix-la-chapelle, and later that at Lille,[1] known as a composer and cornettist.

He took the full violoncello course under Alfred Massau at Verviers Conservatoire, from 1 October 1885 to 15 August 1889, during which he won numerous prizes and awards.

[1] He appeared on stage in Europe and America with such luminaries as Adelina Patti, Paderewski, Von Bulow?, Richter?, and Eugène Ysaÿe.

The stated purpose of his visit was a holiday,[9] but included some concerts with Australian singer Olive Kingston and German pianist Eduard Scharf, who had recently settled in the country.

Their tour dates were: On 20 July Gerardy left Sydney with Canby, his manager, by the SS Westralia for New Zealand, where he played at Christchurch and Auckland, returning to the US by the RMS Ventura on 17 August.

He joined the Belgian Army as a private, but was soon taken out of the ranks and made several important concerts for the troops and fund raisers for the Red Cross.