My parents, Jack Elliott and Nora (later changed to Dixie) Dixon met while studying at the Sydney Conservatorium. Mother was a soprano and dad a baritone. Not long ago, my daughter Hannah discovered a piece in an early 1920s Sydney Morning Herald announcing a prize of one hundred pounds awarded to a young soprano Nora Dixon.

Margaret Fink

First I’d heard; mum never mentioned this to anyone. Dame Clara Butt, a distinguished singer at the time, declared Nora Dixon “the new Melba”. Mum had an extraordinary voice but instead of pursuing a singing career, she decided to marry and have a family. It was her decision to send my brother John and me to study piano with Lottie Dearn at the Sydney Con. John was seven and I was four. Fees were reduced if we enrolled together, so I started tuition young.

We had regular lessons in the city plus extra ones at home when dinner was thrown in for...