John Lemmoné

John Lemmone (22 June 1861 – 16 August 1949; also seen as John Lemmoné) was an Australian flute player and composer who was largely self-taught and who at the age of 12, paid for his first flute with gold he had panned himself on the goldfields at Ballarat. He had an international career as a soloist, and accompanied well-known singers such as Adelina Patti, Nellie Melba and Amy Sherwin, the pianist Ignacy Jan Paderewski, and the violinist Pablo de Sarasate. Later in his career he became Nellie Melba's manager.

Lemmone was born in Ballarat to a Greek immigrant, John Lemon (originally Lamoni) and his English-born wife Mary. It was a musical family and the boy learned tin whistle before progressing to fife, playing in the local Golden City drum and fife band. By the age of 12 he had found enough gold on the Ballarat goldfields to buy his own flute.

The next year, the family moved to Melbourne and as a teenager, Lemmone performed with a number of Melbourne theatre orchestras, including as principal flute with Lyster's Royal Italian Opera Company. In 1884 he made his debut as a soloist in a benefit concert for the local musician Carl Elsässer, who had suffered a stroke. A young singer by the name of Helen Mitchell (later Nellie Melba), who was later to form a close professional association with Lemmone, sang at the same concert.

In 1887 and 1889, having changed his name, Lemmone toured Australia and Asia with soprano Amy Sherwin. He married Isabella Stewart in 1889 and over the next few years he again toured, with singers Janet Patey, Allan James Foley and Charles Santley, and violinist Pablo de Sarasate.

...
Wikipedia