William Arundel Orchard

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

FRCM The Royal College of Music is a conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the undergraduate to the doctoral level in all aspects of Western Music including performance ...

(13 April 18677 April 1961) was a British-born

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 ...

n organist, pianist,

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 ...

conductor Conductor or conduction may refer to: Music * Conductor (music), a person who leads a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra. * ''Conductor'' (album), an album by indie rock band The Comas * Conduction, a type of structured free improvisation ...

and music educator. Orchard was born in London and educated privately. He attended the University of Durham, graduating Bachelor of Music (BMus) in 1893. In 1896 he left England for Perth, Western Australia, to take up a position as a choir director. He later worked in

Hobart Hobart ( ; Nuennonne/Palawa kani: ''nipaluna'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Home to almost half of all Tasmanians, it is the least-populated Australian state capital city, and second-small ...

and New Zealand, before settling in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

in 1903. He was the founding conductor of the

Sydney Symphony Orchestra The Sydney Symphony Orchestra (SSO) is an Australian symphony orchestra that was initially formed in 1908. Since its opening in 1973, the Sydney Opera House has been its home concert hall. Simone Young is the orchestra's chief conductor and firs ...

in 1908 and also conducted the Sydney Madrigal and Chamber Music Society from 1908 to 1915. In 1916, Orchard began teaching at the

New South Wales State Conservatorium of Music New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

, taking over as Director in 1923. The University of Durham made him Doctor of Music (DMus) in 1928. He retired from the Conservatorium in 1934, but in 1935 established the first music degree course at the University of Tasmania, teaching it until 1938. In 1938, he founded the Musical Association of Tasmania, becoming its first President. Returning to Sydney, he became the Visiting Examiner for the

Trinity College of Music Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance is a music and dance conservatoire based in London, England. It was formed in 2005 as a merger of two older institutions – Trinity College of Music and Laban Dance Centre. The conservatoire has ...

, and constantly travelled around Australia for the next 20 years. Orchard was returning from a trip to England, when he died on board the ''Dominion Monarch''. He was buried at sea, off Cape Town, South Africa.

Works

His most successful stage work, ''The Coquette: or, A Suicidal Policy'' (1905), was a light opera in the style of

Gilbert and Sullivan Gilbert and Sullivan was a Victorian era, Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the dramatist W. S. Gilbert (1836–1911) and the composer Arthur Sullivan (1842–1900), who jointly created fourteen comic operas between 1871 and 1896, of which ...

; it tells the story of a suicide club. It was written by W. J. Curtis and J. I. Hunt and published in 1905. His only serious opera was ''Dorian Gray'', a setting of

Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish poet and playwright. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular playwrights in London in the early 1890s. He is ...

's novel '' The Picture of Dorian Gray''. It had its premiere at the New South Wales State Conservatorium on 11 September 1919, but was not published. He also wrote a violin concerto; a dramatic poem for soprano, baritone, men's chorus and orchestra; chamber music; and various songs. Orchard published his autobiography ''The Distant View'' (1943) and ''Music in Australia'' (1952).

Honours

He was elected a Fellow of the Royal College of Music (FRCM) in 1931. In 1936, he was appointed an

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(OBE).

External links

Papers at the National Library of AustraliaAustLit entryText of ''Music in Australia''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Orchard, Warundel 1867 births 1961 deaths Australian Officers of the Order of the British Empire Musicians from London Alumni of Durham University Australian classical pianists Male classical pianists English classical organists British male organists English classical pianists Australian conductors (music) English conductors (music) British male conductors (music) Australian male composers Australian composers English composers British music educators Academic staff of the Sydney Conservatorium of Music British male pianists Male classical organists