Samuel Coleridge-Taylor

This article is about the composer. For the poet, see Samuel Taylor Coleridge. For other uses, see Coleridge-Taylor (disambiguation).

Samuel Coleridge-Taylor
Coleridge-Taylor in 1905
Born	Samuel Coleridge Taylor (1875-08-15)15 August 1875 Holborn, London, England
Died	1 September 1912(1912-09-01) (aged 37) Croydon, Surrey, England
Education	Royal College of Music
Occupations	Classical composer and musician
Spouse	Jessie Walmisley ​ (m. 1899)​
Children	Hiawatha and Avril Coleridge-Taylor

Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (15 August 1875 – 1 September 1912) was a British composer and conductor. He was particularly known for his three cantatas on the epic 1855 poem The Song of Hiawatha by American Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Coleridge-Taylor premiered the first section in 1898, when he was 23. Of mixed-race descent, Coleridge-Taylor achieved such success that he was referred to by white musicians in New York City as the "African Mahler" when he had three tours of the United States in the early 1900s. He married an Englishwoman, Jessie Walmisley, and both their children had musical careers. Their son, Hiawatha, adapted his father's music for a variety of performances. Their daughter, Avril Coleridge-Taylor, became a composer and conductor.