Hooper Josse Brewster-Jones (1887–1949) was a musician, composer, teacher and music critic, born near Orroroo on the Black Rock Plain, South Australia. His parents were William Arthur Jones (c. 1855–1947), a school master, and Rebecca

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

Williams. He attended school at

Armagh Armagh ( ; ga, Ard Mhacha, , "Macha's height") is the county town of County Armagh and a city in Northern Ireland, as well as a civil parish. It is the ecclesiastical capital of Ireland – the seat of the Archbishops of Armagh, the Pri ...

and Bute, where he was taught by his father, including music. In June 1896, he performed a duet with Rebie Jones and then his own composition, "The Bute March" – he celebrated his ninth birthday a few days later. He left home at age 13 to board in Adelaide. Jones studied piano at the

Elder Conservatorium of Music The Elder Conservatorium of Music, also known as "The Con", is Australia's senior academy of music and is located in the centre of Adelaide, the capital of South Australia. It is named in honour of its benefactor, Sir Thomas Elder. Dating in ...

from 1901. While there, he won an

Elder Overseas Scholarship The Elder Overseas Scholarship, sometimes referred to as the Elder Travelling Scholarship, is a triennial award to a South Australian (classical) musician, selected by competition from eligible candidates, to study at the Royal College of Music, Lo ...

to study at London's

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 ...

focussing on composition, chamber music and piano. His farewell concert in June 1905 at the Adelaide Town Hall's Banqueting-room provided, "Bach's 'Prelude and fugue', in A minor (transcribed by Liszt), Chopin's "'Nocturne in E major', 'Etude in F major', and 'Scherzo in B minor', and three works by Liszt." He returned to Adelaide in 1909 to teach piano, composition and singing. He provided a recital at the town hall in November, and '' The Advertiser''s critic opined, "The young pianist proved quite equal to the demands of the difficult composition, and his interpretation was decidedly effective. Certainly the outburst of applause which followed was well earned, and it is not too much to say that the artist demonstrated that he is qualified to take his place amongst the first rank pianists of Australia." In the following year, in June, he married Gerta Homburg, an amateur singer and authority on German

lied In Western classical music tradition, (, plural ; , plural , ) is a term for setting poetry to classical music to create a piece of polyphonic music. The term is used for any kind of song in contemporary German, but among English and French s ...

er. During 1916, Brewster-Jones composed an opera in three acts. A correspondent from ''The Advertiser'' described the work, "The subject is an old Irish tragedy, 'Deirdre', and he has adopted a prose libretto. The 'solo', requirements are two sopranos, tenor, baritone, and bass. No chorus is introduced." Kate Bowan of the ''Journal of Music Research Online'' observed, " eproduced an enormous amount of music, particularly during the 1920s. Some of the music written during this decade, such as the ''Formula Series'', a set of piano preludes, places him in the world of transnational modernism." His works include an opera ''The Nightingale and the Rose'' from ''

The Happy Prince and Other Tales ''The Happy Prince and Other Tales'' (or ''Stories'') is a collection of stories for children by Oscar Wilde first published in May 1888. It contains five stories: "The Happy Prince", "The Nightingale and the Rose", "The Selfish Giant", "The De ...

''. He worked with the

Australian Broadcasting Commission The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is the national broadcaster of Australia. It is principally funded by direct grants from the Australian Government and is administered by a government-appointed board. The ABC is a publicly-owned ...

as a pianist, radio lecturer and conductor of the state's studio orchestra in the 1930s. From 1935 to 1940 he was a music critic for ''The Advertiser'' and then for the ''News''. He retired in the late 1940s. His son, Arthur Brewster-Jones, was the conductor of the Adelaide Stringster Orchestra. Hooper Brewster-Jones' last performance was the D minor Mozart piano concerto with his son's orchestra – he died of a heart attack fifteen minutes later. Upon his death, Hooper Brewster-Jones left his wife, two of three sons and a daughter. He is the grandfather of

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...

and Rick Brewster, who are the founder members of hard rockers, the Angels. There is a plaque in his honour on the

Jubilee 150 Walkway The Jubilee 150 Walkway, also variously known as the Jubilee 150 Commemorative Walk, the Jubilee 150 Walk, Jubilee 150 Plaques, the Jubilee Walk, or simply J150, is a series of (initially) 150 bronze plaques set into the pavement of Nort ...

Published works

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brewster Jones, Hooper 1887 births 1949 deaths 20th-century classical composers Australian classical composers Australian male classical composers People from Orroroo, South Australia 20th-century Australian male musicians 20th-century Australian musicians