Mary Augusta Wakefield (19 August 1853 – 16 September 1910) was a British composer, contralto, festival organiser, and writer.
As a child, Wakefield learned traditional border folksongs from her nurses, which she later included in her collection Northern Songs.
Several of her articles were published in Murray's Magazine from July to December, 1889, under the title Foundation Stones of English Music .
[3] The topics of her lectures and articles included: Wakefield started several choirs in villages around Kendal, near her family home.
In 1885, with her sister Agnes, she brought the choirs together for an outdoor festival to raise money for her local parish church St Thomas', Crosscrake,[8] which had been built with support from her father.
The medal included an image of Wakefield and Martin Luther's quotation "Music is a fair and glorious gift from God.