Mona Margaret McBurney (29 July 18624 December 1932) was a British pianist, teacher and composer who lived and worked in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

Life

Mona McBurney was born in

Douglas Douglas may refer to: People * Douglas (given name) * Douglas (surname) Animals *Douglas (parrot), macaw that starred as the parrot ''Rosalinda'' in Pippi Longstocking *Douglas the camel, a camel in the Confederate Army in the American Civil W ...

Isle of Man ) , anthem = "O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europe ...

, the youngest of six children of teacher and scholar Isaiah McBurney and art and music teacher Margaret McBurney. Mona studied music in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

with Sir Alexander Mackenzie, who was later a principal of the

Royal Academy of Music The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is the oldest conservatoire in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the first Duke of ...

. The family emigrated to

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

, Australia, in 1881, and settled in

Geelong Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in the southeastern Australian state of Victoria, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River, ...

. McBurney attended the Ladies' College where her brother Samuel was principal and 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 ...

in 1881. In 1892 she continued her studies at the University of Melbourne as a music student with G.W.L. Marshall-Hall, graduating in 1896. After ending her studies, McBurney worked as a composer and educator. In 1907 she conducted a women's orchestra in her ''Northern Ballad''. In 1918 she took a position as an Italian and French teacher at the University of Melbourne Conservatorium, and in 1921 a position as Italian teacher at the Albert Street Conservatorium, working in both positions until her death in 1932. McBurney was active in literary and music societies and in providing venues for young musicians and composers. She never married and died of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...

Hawthorn Hawthorn or Hawthorns may refer to: Plants * '' Crataegus'' (hawthorn), a large genus of shrubs and trees in the family Rosaceae * ''Rhaphiolepis'' (hawthorn), a genus of about 15 species of evergreen shrubs and small trees in the family Rosace ...

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 ...

Works

McBurney composed an opera, a concerto for piano and orchestra, a string quartet, two choral odes, a number of piano works and about thirty songs. Selected works include: *''Ode to Dante'', 1902 *''The Dalmatian'', opera, libretto adapted from a popular novel by F. Marion Crawford, ''Marietta: A Maid of Venice'', 1910. *''Northern Ballad'' for orchestra, 1907 * ''String Quartette in G Minor'' * ''Bardic Ode From Ossian'' * ''Persian Song of Spring'' with 14th century lyrics by Hafiz * ''To my Friends the Birds'' * ''O Bella Italia, addio'' * ''Shrine of Remembrance'' * ''Waldtraut's Song'' from "Der wilde Jager" by Julius Wolff (writer) * ''An Elizabethan Madrigal'' * ''A mes amis, les oiseaux'' with lyrics by

Jean Jacques Rousseau Jean-Jacques Rousseau (, ; 28 June 1712 – 2 July 1778) was a Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer. His political philosophy influenced the progress of the Age of Enlightenment throughout Europe, as well as aspects of the French Revolu ...

* ''Chansonnette'' on fifteen century French verse * ''Song on May Morning'' 78rpm recording title 169939 at National Film Sound Archive * ''Gavotte''

References

1862 births 1932 deaths 19th-century classical composers 20th-century classical composers Australian women classical composers Australian music educators Australian opera composers British classical composers British music educators 20th-century British composers People from Douglas, Isle of Man Deaths from pneumonia in Victoria (Australia) 19th-century British composers Women music educators University of Melbourne alumni 20th-century women composers 19th-century women composers {{UK-composer-stub