James Penberthy AM (3 May 191729 March 1999) was an Australian

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

and

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Biography

He was born Albert James Penberthy in

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 ...

in 1917. He served with the

Royal Australian Navy The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the principal naval force of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (CN) Vice Admiral Mark Hammond AM, RAN. CN is also jointly responsible to the Minister of ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. He then studied at the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb nor ...

, where he obtained first class honours in composition. He later studied composition with

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 ...

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, and conducting with Sir

John Barbirolli Sir John Barbirolli ( Giovanni Battista Barbirolli; 2 December 189929 July 1970) was a British conductor and cellist. He is remembered above all as conductor of the Hallé Orchestra in Manchester, which he helped save from dissolution in 194 ...

in England. He made his home in

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

, Western Australia, where he founded the West Australian Opera Company and was co-founder of the

West Australian Ballet West Australian Ballet is the State ballet company of Western Australia and is based in Perth, at the Western Australian Ballet Centre in Maylands. The company was founded in 1952 by Madame Kira Bousloff (formerly of the Ballets Russes) and ...

with his third wife, the Monaco-born Russian dancer

Kira Bousloff Kira Abricossova Bousloff (1914–2001) was a dancer with Ballets Russes who toured Australia in 1938 and stayed, divorcing first husband Serge Bousloff then marrying (and divorcing) James Penberthy while having a significant influence on the ev ...

. In 1975 he moved to the north coast of

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

. He founded the School of Arts at

Southern Cross University Southern Cross University (SCU) is an Australian public university, with campuses at Lismore and Coffs Harbour in northern New South Wales, and at Coolangatta, the most southern suburb of the Gold Coast in Queensland. It is ranked in the top ...

. He died there in 1999.

Works

He wrote prolifically in many genres, but is best known for his 22 ballets and 11 operas. His best known works are ''The Beach Inspector and the Mermaid'' and ''Ophelia of the Nine Mile Beach''. Many of his works have Australian Indigenous connections: the ballets ''Euroka'' (1947), ''Brolga'' (1949), ''Boomerang'' (1951), ''The Whirlwind'' (1954) and ''Kooree and the Mists'' (1960) are all based on Aboriginal legends, with ''Kooree and the Mists'' being written for Mary Joyce Miller, the first Aboriginal ballet dancer in Western Australia. The operas ''Larry'' (1955), ''The Earth Mother'' (1958) and ''Dalgerie'' (1958) explore the relationships between the Indigenous inhabitants and the European settlers. Also, Penberthy's Piano Concerto No. 2 (1955) is subtitled "Aboriginal"; ''Julunggul and Kadjari'' (1957) is a ritual dance for orchestra, and the Sextet for flute, oboe, clarinet, horn and two bassoons (1954) employs Aboriginal melodies and rhythms.

Personal life

Penberthy was married four times, all four marriages ending in divorce. He had a son (David) with Dorothy (née Kerin); a son (Richard) to Barbara (née Paterson); a daughter (Dr Tamara Walters) to

(née Abricossova), co-founder of the

; and he was also married to Constance (aka Claire) Bramley.

Honours

Penberthy was awarded the degree of Doctor of Music from the University of Melbourne in 1975, and was appointed a Member (AM) 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 ...

in 1986.It's an Honour
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Biography

Works

Personal life

Honours

References

Further reading