Objects of Substance – Doris Avery Piano Sheet Music Collect

1914 Doris Avery’s sheet music

While Doris Avery’s music collection gives us a glimpse into the aesthetic and artistic world of a Girls Grammar music student in 1915, one cannot help but consider the impact of world events going on beyond the white picket fence at the time. The world would have undoubtedly grown dark for Doris and her cohort with the landing of Australian troops on Gallipoli that year, and in the first few years out of school, Doris and her peers would continue to experience a nation at war. Unfortunately, this would be followed closely by the outbreak of the Spanish Flu pandemic, which made its way to Queensland in the May of 1919. Despite the 106 years that separate us from Doris’s time as a music student at our School, there remains an enduring connection. Many of the piano students at BGGS today will undoubtedly possess many of Doris’s music titles in their own ‘paper playlists’. The canonical works of JS Bach and Beethoven, the late romantic gems of Grieg, and the rhapsodic poetry of Miriam Hyde being but a few. Engaging with these special objects of substance is a reminder of the importance of music as