Ernest William Watson, known professionally as Ernest Shand, was born on January 31, 1868, in Hull, Yorkshire, England. He began his musical education on the violin but transitioned to the guitar after discovering a composition by Dionisio Aguado. By 1888, he had composed over 150 pieces for solo guitar and published his first tutor. Shand's playing remained unsurpassed in the United Kingdom until Julian Bream emerged in the late 1940s. He moved to London in 1896, where he was elected to the Senate of the London Guild of Violinists and gave well-received performances at the Royal College of Music. His compositions include "March of the Pixies" and "Danse capriccio." Shand's last music publications were around 1910. He died in Birmingham on November 28, 1924.
