Tunnard was born in 1916. Her parents were Thomas Monkton Tunnard of
Birtles Hall, vicar of
Over Alderley, and Grace Cook. She had two younger brothers,
Thomas Tunnard and Peter Humphrey Tunnard. On her
paternal side, Tunnard was the cousin of
Christopher Tunnard. During
World War II, Tunnard toured with singer and
comedienne Joyce Grenfell for the
Entertainments National Service Association (ENSA), who provided entertainment for British armed forces personnel overseas. In 1944 and 1945 they performed in Algeria, Malta, Sicily, Italy, Iran, Iraq, India and Egypt. In 1957, Tunnard became the first accompanist of the
Philharmonia Chorus in
London. She was succeeded by her duet partner
Martin Penny in 1962. During her forty-year career, Tunnard accompanied and mentored artists as
repetiteur, including
Janet Baker,
Peter Pears and
Robert Tear. working with Britten on works including
The Burning Fiery Furnace,
Curlew River and
The Prodigal Son. Tunnard died in 1974.
Playing with Courage: A Biography of Viola Tunnard, written by Janet Anderson, was released in 2001. == References ==