Marie Hall was born at 15 Victoria Street, Newcastle. After early violin lessons, she was heard by Emile Sauret who recommended that she should attend the Royal Academy of Music in London. She did not do so for financial reasons. Instead, she continued with her Newcastle teacher, Hildegard Werner (who lectured at the Lit and Phil in 1879 and 1880). Admirers financed her further studies with eminent teachers, like Elgar at Malvern in 1894. She completed her studies in Prague in 1903, where Dvorak was impressed by her technique, and some critics called her 'the female Kreisler'. She performed for Queen Alexandra at Buckingham Palace.
After this, Marie toured widely in Britain, the Empire and the USA. Vaughan Williams composed his exquisite 'The Lark Ascending' for her and dedicated it to her. She gave the work its first performance with the British symphony Orchestra under Adrian Boult in 1921. In the standard repertory, Marie Hall was considered one of the finest violinists of her time.