Peter Sculthorpe

Peter Sculthorpe ( born April 29, 1929 in Launceston, Tasmania ) is an Australian composer, who was voted one of Australia 's Living National Treasures in 1997.

Sculthorpe visited the Launceston Church Grammar School, and had from the age of nine piano lessons. At the same time he began to compose. At the age of 16, he began studying at the University of Melbourne, which he in 1950 with the degree of Bachelor of Music in piano specialist graduated.

After his return to Tasmania he opened with his brother, a sports shop. 1955 his Piano Sonatina was listed as the first work by an Australian composer at the Festival of the International Society for Contemporary Music in Baden -Baden. In 1958 he received a Lizette Bentwich Scholarship from the Melbourne University, which enabled him to study at Wadham College in Edmund Rubbra and Egon Wellesz. Here he also met the composer Peter Maxwell Davies and John Cage know.

In 1960 he returned to Australia and taught from 1963 until his retirement from the University of Sydney. His students included here Anne Boyd, Ross Edwards and Barry Conyngham. 1966-67 he was composer in residence at Yale University, 1972-73 he was a visiting professor at the University of Sussex.

1977 Sculthorpe was named Officer of the British Empire, 1990 as Officer of the Order of Australia. For his contribution to the Australian music he received the 1992 Sir Bernard Heinze Award. 1997 elected him to the National Trust of Australia to one of Australia's 100 Living National Treasures.

Sculthorpe composed about 350 works in all musical genres from song about choral music to opera, pieces for solo instruments, chamber music and orchestral works, religious works and film scores.