[3][9] Ibberson took part in activities including folk dancing and the Girl Guides, as well as becoming involved in campaigns for women's suffrage.
Ibberson's stated aim was "to make good teaching available to amateurs of all ages, not in the large centres of professional music but in country towns and villages".
[19] In 1953, the Rural Music Schools Association moved to new premises in Hitchin - a house, garden, and cottage bequeathed by Esther Seebohm, "to be used in perpetuity for the support of music-making".
[12][20] The building contained a memorial to Editha Knocker, a violin teacher and co-founder of an instrument loan programme,[12] who had been a significant supporter of the Rural Music Schools.
She enlisted the support of eminent musicians of the day, she gave her own time and skill freely in rehearsing and teaching, and she backed appeals for money by personal example".
[4] The concert was conducted by Adrian Boult, with a programme which included a specially composed work by Imogen Holst, and performances by many of Ibberson's former students and colleagues.
[9] In a 1976 interview, Bernard Shore described Ibberson "one of the most wonderful women I’ve ever met because she had vision (though she never thought the organisation would grow as it has), and was always striving for standards in the amateur music world".