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Sutherland, Margaret (1897 - 1984)

AO, OBE
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Composer
Born: 20 November 1897  Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.  Died: 1984.

Margaret Sutherland’s life’s work as a composer saw her produce over 90 compositions and attain renown as a pioneer of ‘new music’ and of women’s involvement in music. Her only opera - the Young Kabbarli (1964), based on Daisy Bates - was the first Australian opera recorded in Australia.

Sutherland’s work promoting music and the arts included her years (1943-1956) as an initiator, organiser and secretary for the Combined Arts Centre Movement, a group which worked to promote the formation of a cultural centre in Melbourne after World War II, and her membership of many other councils and organising bodies such as the council of the National Gallery Association of Victoria (1950s-1960s).

Recognition of Sutherland’s prolific life as a composer and champion of the Arts in Australia has included an honorary Doctorate of Music from the University of Melbourne (1969), the Queen’s Silver Jubilee Medal (1977), and her appointment as an Officer of the Order of the British Empire on 13 June 1970 and an Officer of the Order of Australia on 8 June 1981.

 
Sources used to compile this entry: Who’s Who of Australian Women; Australian Music Centre, http://www.amcoz.com.au/comp/s/msutland.htm.
Related Entries for Sutherland, Margaret

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Published Resources

Books

  • Symons, David, The music of Margaret Sutherland, Currency Press, Sydney, 1997. [ Details... ]

Newspaper Articles

  • 'A lifetime of music', Age, 13 June, p. 14. [ Details... ]
  • 'Composer too long neglected', Age, 20 November, p. B4. [ Details... ]

Theses

  • Graham, Jillian, 'Composer, wife and mother : Margaret Sutherland as conflicted subject', M.Mus, University of Melbourne, 2001, 77 pp. [ Details... ]

Online Resources

See also

  • 'Records of the Australian Musical Association', National Library of Australia, http://www.nla.gov.au/ms/findaids/7996.html. [ Details... ]
  • Lake, Marilyn and Kelly, Farley (eds), Double Time: Women in Victoria - 150 Years, Penguin Books Australia Ltd, Ringwood (Vic.), 1985, 476 pp. [ Details... ]
  • Lofthouse, Andrea (ed.), Who's who of Australian women, Methuen Australia, North Ryde (NSW), 1982, 504 pp. [ Details... ]
  • Pendle, Karin (ed.), Women & music : a history, Indiana University Press, Bloomington, 1991, 358 pp. [ Details... ]
  • Radi, Heather (ed.), 200 Australian Women: A Redress Anthology, Women's Press, Sydney, [1988], 258 pp. (Also available at http://www.200australianwomen.com/) [ Details... ]
  • Sztar, Adele, Australian women composers [videorecording], Adele Sztar, Australia, 1983. [ Details... ]

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Structure based on ISAAR(CPF) - click here for an explanation of the fields.Prepared by: Clare Land
Created: 6 November 2002
Modified: 8 April 2003

Published by National Foundation for Australian Women on Australian Women's Archives Project Web Site
Comments, questions, corrections and additions: awap@womenaustralia.info
Prepared by: Acknowledgements
Updated: 6 May 2008
http://womenaustralia.info/biogs/IMP0236b.htm

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