Music

Soprano Dame Nellie Melba (1861–1931) was a huge star, both overseas and in Australia. A determined and skilled performer, she commanded respect and admiration wherever she went. She travelled the world, yet always maintained her ties to Australia, touring the country frequently. Dedicated to performance and the stage her whole life, on her death she left a substantial bequest to the Melbourne Conservatorium. Melba was a prolific writer and record keeper, and much of her personal letters and correspondence still exists today, giving an insight into her life and work.

Australian opera prima donna Dame Joan Sutherland (1926–2010) was one of Australia’s most prolific operatic stars. Sutherland had stellar career at home and overseas from the 1950s until her retirement in 1990. She usually performed in partnership with her husband, Australian conductor Richard Bonynge. Sutherland is considered one of the world’s great coloratura sopranos. This term is used to describe sopranos—women with a high singing voice—who specialise in music with agile runs, leaps up and down the scale and trills. Italian opera great, Luciano Pavarotti, described Sutherland’s as ‘the voice of the century’. Despite her many world tours and international performances, she always considered Australia her home and is well known for her renditions of ‘Home, Sweet Home’ whenever she was on an Australian stage.

Australian Composers

Percy Aldridge Grainger

Percy Aldridge Grainger (1882–1961) was an Australian-born composer ,pianist and arranger who lived in the United States for much of his life. He left Australia to attend the Hoch Conservatory in Frankfurt, Germany. He was based in London between 1901 and 1914 and established himself as a society pianist and a concert performer. He became a significant figure in European music. In 1914 he moved to the United States and became increasingly involved in music education. He performed his last concert in 1960. One of Grainger’s most famous works is ‘Country Gardens’.

Elena Kats-Chernin

Elena Davidovna Kats-Chernin was born in Tashkent, Uzbekistan (then part of the Soviet Union). Studying at the Yaroslavl Music School and the Gnessin State Musical College in Moscow from age 14, Elena migrated to Australia in 1975, continuing her studies at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. Often working under the name Elena Kats, she also participated in theatre and cabaret performance groups. Kats-Chernin went to Germany where she composed music for theatrical productions. It was while in Germany that she composed ‘Clocks for the Ensemble Modern’, a piece that would be performed around the world. Since returning to Australia in 1994, Kats-Chernin has written many pieces for many performers and ensembles. Her portrait hangs in the National Portrait Gallery in Canberra.

Deborah Cheetham

Opera singer, artistic director and composer, Deborah Cheetham (b. 1964) is a Yorta Yorta woman and a member of the stolen generations. Her opera Pecan Summer (2010), about the 1939 Cummeragunja Mission walk-off, was Australia’s first Aboriginal opera, performed in both Yorta Yorta language and English. She has said about its origins: ‘This opera comes from a very deep place, from genetic memory, from life’s experiences.’ Cheetham is also artistic director of Short Black Opera, a national Indigenous performing arts company.

Activities

•  A lagerphone is a percussion instrument made from a broom or mop handle. In a 1956 article in the journal Singabout, The Bushwhackers’ ‘lagerphonist’, Brian Loughlin, suggested it was a successor to a ‘Jingling Johnny’ used by English military bands: ‘The instrument is not solely meant to make people laugh, but is intended as a serious rhythm accompaniment to melody instruments … If you haven’t got a lagerphone, make one this weekend. They are good fun … and remember the Bushwhackers’ slogan, “A lagerphone in every home”.’
• Alternatives to the lagerphone can be fun instruments made from simple items like rubber bands: try a rubber band and ruler guitar or bands simply stretched over lunchboxes.
• Have the students collaborate to compose a performance based on forms and elements of music. This can be as sophisticated or as simple as equipment/imaginations allow. Use beatbox backgrounds ranging from clapping and scatting to thigh-slapping. Add layers to the piece in a round.