During the 1960s, British Arts Council Scholarships sponsored studies firstly with Nadia Boulanger in Paris, and later in London with the Hungarian pianists Ilona Kabos and Louis Kentner.
Havill made her Wigmore Hall debut in 1966,[3] after which she began her concert career touring regularly throughout the United Kingdom, Ireland and Australasia.
[4][5] Since 1980, Havill has been a professor at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama in London, and in recent years has gained worldwide recognition as a teacher.
Her students have featured amongst the major prize winners of many leading international piano competitions,[6] including the Chopin Competition (Warsaw), Van Cliburn, Leeds, Scottish International, Royal Overseas League, Maria Canals, Montreal, Gina Bacchauer, Hamamatsu, Honens, Maria Callas, Marguerite Long, William Kapell and the Busoni.
They include Paul Lewis, Sa Chen, Tom Poster, Lucy Parham, Gareth Owen, Mihai Ritivoiu, Misako Osada, Andrew Brownell, Cordelia Williams, James Sherlock and Serhiy Salov.