The eldest, Rosalind, had a brilliant career as a musician; she studied with Mr M C Maynier in Jamaica, but in 1906, when she was 13, she was sent to England to continue her studies. In 1910 she entered the Royal Academy of Music, where she studied with Professor Carlo Albanesi. In the following years she was awarded a Bronze, then a Silver Medal, and in 1913 the Certificate of Merit. Her plans to sit for the L.R.A.M. were disrupted by the out-break of war in 1914, when her father insisted that she return to Jamaica. She decided on returning to London in 1916, and in the following year received the L.R.A.M.; according to the Gleaner report at the time, she was the first Chinese person to do so.
In 1919 Rosalind and Hilda made the journey, via the USA, to China, to visit their ancestral homeland. In 1922 Rosalind married George Sokolsky, a controversial American journalist of Russian Jewish ancestry, whom she met in Shanghai.
In 1919 Rosalind and Hilda made the journey, via the USA, to China, to visit their ancestral homeland. In 1922 Rosalind married George Sokolsky, a controversial American journalist of Russian Jewish ancestry, whom she met in Shanghai.
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the family
The seven daughters of Charles and Mary Phang were remarkable young women – Rosalind, May, Hilda, Inez, Lucille, Mildred, Gladys, and two of them stand out particularly for their talents in the performing arts, though all of them seem to have had musical talent.
During the war years the Phang girls arranged and performed in numerous concerts to raise money for the Jamaicans with the British West India Regiment in France and the Middle East. They sang, and danced, and played piano solos at concerts in venues in Kingston and in rural towns.
During the war years the Phang girls arranged and performed in numerous concerts to raise money for the Jamaicans with the British West India Regiment in France and the Middle East. They sang, and danced, and played piano solos at concerts in venues in Kingston and in rural towns.