Avril Dankworth

Avril Margaret Dankworth (April 1922 – March 2013) was an English music educator who established the week-long summer Avril Dankworth Children's Music Camps (now the National Music Camps) for children aged between 7 and 17 in Wavendon, near Milton Keynes, in mid-1970. She also sang, taught music, authored multiple books and helped introduce the idiom in school music curriculum.

Early life In April 1922, Avril Margaret Dankworth was born in Southend-on-Sea, Essex. Dankworth's family had connections to the music world; her mother Alice was a singer and choir trainer; her aunt played the brass; her uncle was a pianist; and her brother John Dankworth was a jazz composer and saxophonist. and liked the tradition of camp fire sing songs. The week-long summer music camps were for all children aged between 7 and 17 and there was no minimum entry grade only a musical love insisted on by Dankworth. Several of the former campers such as the record producer Guy Chambers, Christian Garrick, Tim Firth, the Sting guitarist Dominic Miller and Radiohead lead singer Thom Yorke all went on to attain successful careers in the music industry. she was married to the Big Band-era trombonist Les Carew.