May Harrison (23 August 1890 – 8 June 1959) was an English violinist and the oldest of four sisters who were classical musicians in Great Britain during the early 20th century.

May Harrison became known for her interpretations of the violin works of Bach, Brahms, Elgar, Glazunov, Grieg, Handel, and Mendelssohn while her sister, Beatrice, was praised by King George V for her outdoor recordings at the Harrison’s home at Foyle Riding in Oxted, Surrey of cello works mingled with nightingale songs.

Her sister, Beatrice, was born in 1892 in Roorkee, Uttarakhand, India “in a picturesque valley of the Himalayas,” where her father worked, according to David Candlin.

[11] That same year, the family returned to England, where May Harrison's father was given command of The Royal Engineers Band at Chatham.

[14] In 1900, May Harrison vied against 3,000 male and female musicians of all ages in the Associated Board's Senior Department, taking home the Gold Medal when she was just ten years old.

[18][19] According to Katrina Fountain, "May's genius, even at the age of fifteen, became apparent to Arbos who invited her in 1906 to make her European debut with the Madrid Symphony Orchestra.

This was a great success and, with her mother as chaperone, she went to meet the Spanish Royal family and was presented with a gift of jewels".

[21] Over the next decade, May and Beatrice Harrison increased their fame through performances of Johannes Brahms’ Double-Concerto for Violin and Cello.

I wish I could describe our delight when he said that he thought our performance was superb, so much so that he himself was inspired to write a double concerto and dedicate it to my sister and me.

Of course we had that marvellous conductor and a splendid orchestra that evening, and we feel we can never thank them enough for helping us to inspire Delius to write his glorious Double.

I have seen him shudder with agony at bad intonation or insensitive phrasing; and now when I see his works so often set for examinations I feel I must offer up a prayer that Delius may be comforted for the performances that are bound to come forth!

[28] Among the friends and colleagues made by the sisters in the musical community, in addition to Beecham, Delius, Elgar, Kreisler, and Glazunov were: Eugen d’Albert, Sir Arnold Bax, Pablo Casals, John Ireland, Zoltán Kodály, Dame Nellie Melba, Ernest John Moeran, Oskar Nedbal, Arthur Nikisch, Roger Quilter, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Freda Swain and Felix Weingartner.

[29][30] Prior to the outbreak of World War II, May Harrison’s performances were frequently heard live in Promenade Concerts and via the BBC Radio.

[31] Three of the sisters – May, Beatrice and Margaret – performed in the Delius Memorial Concert at Wigmore Hall on 29 May 1946, which helped raise funds to ease the war-related suffering of European children.