The composer of my solo piece, Jamaican Rumba, was an Australian man called Arthur Leslie Benjamin. He was born in Sydney on the 18th of September 1893, to Abraham and Amelia Benjamin.
Amelia played the piano, a talent which she passed on to her son. At the age of six he made his first public appearance as a pianist. His formal music training began three years later with organist George Sampson. A few years later he began composing his own music.
Many women strongly influenced Arthur Benjamin and his writings, even though he was homosexual. …
