Judy Hall (pianist)

Evelyn Margaret Mary "Judy" Hall OAM (née Baillie; born 2 July 1922) is an Australian pianist and musician.

Her early piano teachers were reported to be numerous and of low standard, Hall stating that "I made a pledge... that I would never let another child experience such wasted years.

"[2] At the age of fifteen, Hall left the Warragul High School, continuing her education at the St. Joseph's convent in Trafalgar, where she studied bookkeeping, typing and music.

[4][2] Her teaching ability was proven in the multitude of her students who passed examinations and competed in eisteddfods, with seventy-six major awards and scholarships granted.

[8] In 1979, Italian pianist Professor Lidia Baldecchi-Arcuri gave a series of five lectures in Sydney on the importance of the foundations of musical education.

[8] In the succeeding years, she played as a cellist in chamber music groups, as part of local orchestras and in accompanying the Latrobe Valley Operatic Society.

[12][1] In 2012, a concert was hosted on the occasion of Hall's 90th birthday at the Gippsland Christian Church in Moe featuring herself, many of her past students and family.

[10] On 8 February 2019, Hall performed at a Gala Concert hosted by the Melbourne Recital Centre in celebration of their 10th anniversary.

She performed alongside her previous students Timothy Young and Alexander Waite in an arrangement of Franz Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsody No.

Well documented during this publicity was her continuing ability to teach, perform and have a desire to learn new technique and repertoire in her mid-late 90s.

[14] On 11 June 1996, Hall was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia for her service to music education in the Latrobe Valley during the previous 50 years.

Hall pictured with the Gippsland Symphony Orchestra at her Melbourne Town Hall performance in 2019.
Hall with the Gippsland Symphony Orchestra at her Melbourne Town Hall performance in 2019