John Henry Antill, CMG, OBE (8 April 190429 December 1986) 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 Def ...

best known for his ballet ''

Corroboree A corroboree is a generic word for a meeting of Australian Aboriginal peoples. It may be a sacred ceremony, a festive celebration, or of a warlike character. A word coined by the first British settlers in the Sydney area from a word in the ...

''.

Biography

Antill was born 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 Mounta ...

in 1904, and was educated and trained in music at Trinity Grammar School, Sydney and St Andrew's Cathedral School. Upon leaving school in 1920, he was apprenticed to the

New South Wales Government Railways The New South Wales Government Railways (NSWGR) was the agency of the Government of New South Wales that administered rail transport in New South Wales, Australia, between 1855 and 1932. Management The agency was managed by a range of differen ...

. He left the railways five years later to study full-time at the New South Wales Conservatorium of Music under

Alfred Hill Alfred Hill may refer to: * Alfred John Hill (1862–1927), British railway engineer * Alfred Hill (cricketer, born 1865) (1865–1936), English cricketer * Alfred Hill (politician) (1867–1945), British Member of Parliament for Leicester West 192 ...

. After graduation, he played in both the NSW State Orchestra and 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 f ...

, and, from 1932 to 1934, he toured with the J. C. Williamson Imperial Opera Company as a tenor and a rehearsal conductor. In 1936, he became assistant Music Editor 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 ...

(ABC). He remained with the ABC until his retirement in 1968, having taken up the position of ABC Federal Music Editor in the meantime. His most famous work, ''

'', was first performed as a concert suite in 1946, conducted by Eugene Goossens. He based his composition on a real

corroboree A corroboree is a generic word for a meeting of Australian Aboriginal peoples. It may be a sacred ceremony, a festive celebration, or of a warlike character. A word coined by the first British settlers in the Sydney area from a word in the ...

, which he witnessed in 1913 at La Perouse in Sydney. He had intended the work as a

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form ...

, but it was not performed as such until 1950. The 1950 ballet premiere, choreographed by Rex Reid, of this work was hailed as a "coming-of-age" milestone in Australian cultural life,Potter, M. (2004) “Corroboree”. ''NATIONAL Library of Australia News'', March 2004 Volume XIV No. 6, pp.11-14 although to modern eyes it appears a quaint and disconcerting period piece reflecting dated views of indigenous Australia. A new version of the ballet, performed in 1954, was choreographed by American-born dancer, choreographer and writer Beth Dean who, with her Australian husband Victor Carell, spent eight months in parts of central and northern Australia to capture a more authentic understanding. The

National Museum of Australia The National Museum of Australia, in the national capital Canberra, preserves and interprets Australia's social history, exploring the key issues, people and events that have shaped the nation. It was formally established by the ''National Muse ...

holds a large collection of costumes, props and ephemera from the Dean production. Dean and Carell also wrote a biography of John Antill titled ''Gentle Genius'', published in 1987. In 1971, Antill was appointed an Officer (OBE) 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 ...

for services to Australian music. In 1981, he was made a Companion of the

Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III. It is named in honour ...

(CMG).It's an Honour: CMG
/ref> In 1985, the year before his death, he received an

Honorary Doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hono ...

in Creative Arts from the

University of Wollongong The University of Wollongong (abbreviated as UOW) is an Australian public research university located in the coastal city of Wollongong, New South Wales, approximately 80 kilometres south of Sydney. As of 2017, the university had an enrolment of ...

References

Other sources

*1968, ''World Book Encyclopedia'', Australasian edition
Australian Music Centre: John Antill
*

* *
National Museum of Australia
Beth Dean collection.

External links

* Listen to an excerpt of John Antill'
'Cooroboree'
o
australianscreen online

'Cooroboree'
was added to the

National Film and Sound Archive The National Film and Sound Archive of Australia (NFSA), known as ScreenSound Australia from 1999 to 2004, is Australia's audiovisual archive, responsible for developing, preserving, maintaining, promoting and providing access to a national co ...

Sounds of Australia The Sounds of Australia, formerly the National Registry of Recorded Sound, is the National Film and Sound Archive's selection of sound recordings which are deemed to have cultural, historical and aesthetic significance and relevance for Australi ...

registry in 2007
National Library of Australia News, March 2004: ''Cooroboree''
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Antill, John 1904 births 1986 deaths APRA Award winners Australian male composers Australian composers Ballet composers Sydney Conservatorium of Music alumni Australian Officers of the Order of the British Empire Australian Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George People educated at Trinity Grammar School (New South Wales) Musicians from Sydney 20th-century composers 20th-century Australian musicians 20th-century Australian male musicians