Elizabeth Poston

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Elizabeth Poston (October 24, 1905–March 18, 1987) was an English composer, pianist, and writer. She studied at the Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, where she was encouraged by both Peter Warlock and Ralph Vaughan Williams. She won a prize from RAM for her violin sonata, which was subsequently broadcast by the BBC. When she graduated from RAM in 1925 seven of her songs were published, and in 1928 she published five more. Poston went abroad between 1930 and 1939, where she studied architecture, and collected folksongs. When she returned to England at the beginning of WWII she joined the BBC, and became the director of music in the European Service. She left briefly in 1945, but returned in 1947 in order to advise the creation of the BBC Third Programme. Poston was the president of the Society of Women Musicians 1955–1961.

Poston composed scores for radio and television productions, over 40 in radio alone, and collaborated with writers such as C. S. Lewis and Dylan Thomas. She wrote the score for the television production of Howards End while living in Rooks Nest House, the setting of the novel.

In addition to her composing, Poston was also an academic, who wrote articles and program notes for the Arts Council of Great Britain and was the editor of a number of folksong carol and hymn collections, and in 1947 she created a five-part lecture series on Peter Warlock for the BBC. In addition she was a respected performer, premiering Walter Leigh’s Concertino for piano and strings and playing piano at National Gallery Concerts.