Farquhar Davis Wilkinson (20 April 1932 – 25 October 2022) was a New Zealand classical cellist. He was principal cellist with the

New Zealand Symphony Orchestra The New Zealand Symphony Orchestra (NZSO) is a symphony orchestra based in Wellington, New Zealand. The national orchestra of New Zealand, the NZSO is an autonomous Crown entity owned by the Government of New Zealand, per the New Zealand Sympho ...

from 1955 to 1992.

Early life and family

Wilkinson was born in

Oamaru Oamaru (; mi, Te Oha-a-Maru) is the largest town in North Otago, in the South Island of New Zealand, it is the main town in the Waitaki District. It is south of Timaru and north of Dunedin on the Pacific coast; State Highway 1 and the railway ...

on 20 April 1932, the son of George Ernest Wilkinson and Vera Maud Wilkinson (née Flamank). The family moved to

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...

, where George Wilkinson taught music at Dunedin Teachers' College, and Farquhar began learning to play the cello when he was five years old; with Miss Ethel Frye as his teacher, he passed the grade 1 cello examination of the

Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music The ABRSM (Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music) is an examination board and registered charity based in the United Kingdom. ABRSM is one of five examination boards accredited by Ofqual to award graded exams and diploma qualification ...

with distinction in 1941. He gained a diploma as an Associate of Trinity College London (ATCL) in cello in 1948. From 1945 to 1948, Wilkinson was educated at

Otago Boys' High School , motto_translation = "The ‘right’ learning builds a heart of oak" , type = State secondary, day and boarding , established = ; years ago , streetaddress= 2 Arthur Street , region = Dunedin , state = Otago , zipcod ...

. He gained entry to the

Royal College of Music The Royal College of Music is a music school, conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the Undergraduate education, undergraduate to the Doctorate, doctoral level in a ...

in London, and travelled there in 1949 to further his cello studies. In 1954, Wilkinson married Barbara Gwendoline Welch, and the couple went on to have five daughters.

Career

After graduating from the Royal College of Music, Wilkinson played with the

Sadler's Wells Ballet The Royal Ballet is a British internationally renowned classical ballet company, based at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, London, England. The largest of the five major ballet companies in Great Britain, the Royal Ballet was founded in ...

for a time, before returning to New Zealand where he joined the National Orchestra of the New Zealand Broadcasting Service—now called the

(NZSO)—in 1953. Two years later he became the orchestra's principal cellist, in which role he continued until retiring in 1992. During that period, he was a cello tutor for the New Zealand National Youth Orchestra, and played regularly with the Alex Lindsay String Orchestra as principal cellist between 1961 and 1973. Throughout his career, Wilkinson was active in

chamber music Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small numb ...

. He played with the Rosner Chamber Music Ensemble in 1955. In 1958, he was part of the Malcolm Latchem String Quartet that won the Judith Bagnall Prize for string quartet playing. The quartet, led by Malcolm Latchem who had moved to New Zealand and joined the National Orchestra in 1956, subsequently toured New Zealand. After Latchem returned to England the following year, Wilkinson became part of the newly formed Aspey String Quartet, led by

Vincent Aspey Vincent Aspey (5 January 1909 – 18 April 1987) was a violinist, born in England, but raised in New Zealand, who rose to the rank of the first violinist of the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra. In his later life, he taught violin to students, even ...

. In 1961, Wilkinson was a founding member of the New Zealand String Quartet, led by Alex Lindsay, which toured throughout New Zealand and undertook extensive broadcasting work. In 1964, Wilkinson was an inaugural recipient of a study bursary from the New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation that enabled members of the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra to study overseas for six months. He travelled to Britain in January 1965, stopping in Hong Kong where he performed on television. In London, he played with the

London Symphony Orchestra The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London. Founded in 1904, the LSO is the oldest of London's orchestras, symphony orchestras. The LSO was created by a group of players who left Henry Wood's Queen's ...

, and made a two-week concert tour with the orchestra that included the Prague Spring Festival. He also undertook advanced study with

William Pleeth William Pleeth OBE (12 January 1916 – 6 April 1999) was a well-known British cellist and an eminent teacher, who became widely known as the teacher of Jacqueline du Pré. Biography Early years William Pleeth was born in London. His p ...

, observed master classes by

Nadia Boulanger Juliette Nadia Boulanger (; 16 September 188722 October 1979) was a French music teacher and conductor. She taught many of the leading composers and musicians of the 20th century, and also performed occasionally as a pianist and organist. From a ...

, and did freelance playing with various London orchestras. Towards the end of his career with the NZSO, Wilkinson was awarded the

Queen's Service Medal The Queen's Service Medal is a medal awarded by the government of New Zealand to recognise and reward volunteer service to the community and also public service in elected or appointed public office. It was established in 1975 and is related to ...

, for public services, in the

1991 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1991 were appointments by Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by people of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth. They were published on 28 December 1990 for the United Kingdom, N ...

Later life and death

After retiring from the NZSO, Wilkinson moved to

Waikawa Bay Waikawa is the name of three small settlements and a river in New Zealand. * Waikawa, Southland *Waikawa, Marlborough *Waikawa Beach, a bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. ...

, near Picton. He died in Blenheim on 25 October 2022, aged 90. He had been predeceased by his wife, Barbara, in 2017.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilkinson, Farquhar 1932 births 2022 deaths People from Oamaru People educated at Otago Boys' High School Alumni of the Royal College of Music New Zealand classical cellists Recipients of the Queen's Service Medal New Zealand Symphony Orchestra people