David McSkimming OAM (6 March 195017 March 2016) was an Australian pianist best known as an accompanist and, over many years, a regular performer in concert and on radio for the ABC. After graduating with a master's degree in Piano Performance, he played harpsichord and organ continuo and piano with the

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

and

Adelaide Symphony Orchestra The Adelaide Symphony Orchestra (ASO) is a South Australian performing arts organisation comprising 75 full-time musicians, established in 1936. Based in Adelaide, South Australia, the orchestra's primary performance venue is the Adelaide Town Ha ...

Orchestra Victoria Orchestra Victoria is a full-time salaried orchestra based in Melbourne, Australia, and wholly owned subsidiary of the Australian Ballet. Founded in 1969, the orchestra is now a principal performance partner for the Australian Ballet, Opera Austra ...

and the Adelaide Chamber Orchestra. He also played horn in the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra. From 2006, McSkimming was Head of Music at

Victorian Opera Victorian Opera is an opera company based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The company was founded in 2005 by the Victorian Government as a replacement for the Victoria State Opera. It commenced operations in January 2006 with Richard Gill as ...

. He gave recitals with many Australian musicians, including

Yvonne Kenny Yvonne Kenny AM (born 25 November 1950) is an Australian soprano, particularly associated with Handel, Mozart and bel canto roles. Biography Born in Sydney, she first studied at the University of Sydney in science, hoping to become a biochemi ...

Marilyn Richardson Marilyn Richardson (born 10 June 1936) is an Australian operatic soprano. She sang Laura in the first performances of Richard Meale's opera, ''Voss''. Career Born in Sydney on 10 June 1936, Richardson studied singing and piano at the New Sou ...

Emma Matthews Emma Matthews (née Lysons; born 1970) is an English-born Australian lyric coloratura soprano, noted for operatic roles, but also popular on the concert stage. A Principal Artist with Opera Australia, Matthews has received more Helpmann Awards ...

and Jonathan Summers. He gave recitals with, amongst others, violinists Jane Peters and Miwako Abe and hornplayer Richard Runnels. In October 1998 as part of the

Melbourne Festival Melbourne International Arts Festival, formerly Spoleto Festival Melbourne – Festival of the Three Worlds, then Melbourne International Festival of the Arts, becoming commonly known as Melbourne Festival, was a major international arts festi ...

, Mr McSkimming was the associate artist in recitals with the renowned Korean soprano

Sumi Jo Sumi Jo, OSI (; ; born 22 November 1962) is a South Korean lyric coloratura soprano known for her Grammy award-winning interpretations of the bel canto repertoire. Life and career Early life and education Jo was born Jo Su-gyeong in Changw ...

and American tenor Gary Lakes. McSkimming was a member of the State Opera Of South Australia from 1976–1989, after which he worked with the

Victoria State Opera The Victoria State Opera (VSO), based in Melbourne, Australia, was founded in Melbourne in 1962. The company, founded by Leonard Spira, was a move into grand opera by the then amateur Gilbert and Sullivan-oriented Victorian Light Opera Co. The n ...

as Principal Repetiteur until joining

Opera Australia Opera Australia is the principal opera company in Australia. Based in Sydney, its performance season at the Sydney Opera House accompanied by the Opera Australia Orchestra runs for approximately eight months of the year, with the remainder of ...

for the year 1997. He also worked with Opera Factory Zurich. His repertoire extended to more than 130 operas. David was an Associate Artist at the

Australian National Academy of Music The Australian National Academy of Music (ANAM) is a classical music performance training facility situated in Melbourne. History ANAM was established in 1994, as part of prime minister Paul Keating's "Creative Nation" initiative. On 23 Oct ...

where he worked with artists including English mezzo-soprano Sarah Walker and Australian baritone Gregory Yurisich. He was based in Melbourne but for 9 years freelanced and as such travelled all over Australia as an accompanist and repetiteur. During 2003 David spent seven months as principal repetiteur for the State opera of South Australia's Ring Cycle. McSkimming's recording with Rosamund Illing, "Songs of Duparc and Poulenc", received widespread acclaim both in Australia and internationally and was voted "Australian Classical Vocal CD of the Year" in 1997. He also recorded a CD of Chinese songs with tenor Yu Jixing; and with violinist, Miwako Abe, a CD of French violin music. 2005 saw the release of a CD of English songs and duets sung by

Anthony Warlow Anthony Warlow (born 18 November 1961) is an Australian musical theatre performer, noted for his character acting and considerable vocal range. He is a classically trained lyric baritone and made his debut with the Australian Opera in 1980. ...

and David Hobson; and in 2006, Hobson and McSkimming recorded and released an album of French Songs. McSkimming was awarded the

Medal of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

(OAM) for services to the Performing Arts on Australia Day, 2012. He died of

motor neurone disease Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as motor neuron disease (MND) or Lou Gehrig's disease, is a neurodegenerative disease that results in the progressive loss of motor neurons that control voluntary muscles. ALS is the most comm ...

on 17 March 2016.Bethel Funerals
Retrieved 24 September 2016

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McSkimming, David 1950 births 2016 deaths Australian classical pianists Australian male classical pianists Classical accompanists Australian accompanists Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia Deaths from motor neuron disease in Australia