Glen Carter-Varney

Glennis Carter–Varney (born 12 May 1938) is an Australian composer, pianist and educator: formerly as Head of Contemporary Keyboard studies and lecturer in piano at the Melba Memorial Conservatorium in Melbourne and as Music Director at The Scots School in Albury New South Wales. She also taught class music at Methodist Ladies College in Melbourne and directed her own private Music Schools in Melbourne and Brisbane. She has produced musicals, trained choirs and madrigal groups, performed as a soloist and recording artist, and her experience is wide and varied.

Early life and education

Born in country Victoria, Carter–Varney commenced musical training at the age of three and as a student won many eisteddfods and competitions. At the age of twelve she gained her Associate Diploma and was offered a scholarship to study piano with Waldemar Seidel at the Melbourne University Conservatorium. On two occasions she was awarded a Conservatorium Exhibition for piano. She also studied composition with John Ingram and Bernard de Oliviera. She later studied with Norah Newby at the Royal Academy in London.

Career

She has given concerts and workshops in the USA and Australia and has several recordings to her credit which have been used in programs for ABC and commercial radio. She also worked as a session musician accompanying other Australian artists in the recording studios in Melbourne and has given many radio recitals for the ABC from the Melbourne and Sydney studios. As part of a Duo piano partnership with her husband, she was featured in the top rating television shows Showcase, Bobby Limb's Sound Of Music, and the Melbourne Tonight Shows with Graeme Kennedy. She is currently an examiner for the Australian Music Examination Board and has conducted the workshops for Contemporary Popular Music for AMEB Queensland.

Carter–Varney has written, published and recorded a collection of music for the piano and the most recent Summer Dreaming – a suite of five pieces – was inspired by the painting entitled The Spirits Within by Australian Artist Roger Saunders. The Artamidae, Sonic Fantasy and Shades of Blue were written for the Keys National Festival for Australian Music and were performed by award winners at the Festival held at the Brisbane Convention Centre in 2003 and 2004. Many of these pieces along with her Kool Piano Series have been included in the examination syllabuses of the Australian Music Examinations Board, Australian and New Zealand Cultural Arts, Australian Guild of Music and Speech and St Cecilias.

Personal life

In 1961 Glen married Jack Carter, Town Clerk of Albury NSW who was also a talented pianist and organist and a Fellow of the Trinity College London. Together they formed the Duo piano partnership which achieved fame in the television and radio programs of the sixties and seventies. They also played as Guest Soloists in concertos with the Royal Australian Navy Concert Orchestra on several occasions under conductor Commander Hooker. They had two daughters and their musical avocation has continued on through their eldest daughter Sonya Visser who is a highly respected music educator. In later life Jack Carter died and Glen married well known Jazz musician and record producer Jack Varney, one of the original members of the Graeme Bell Jazz Band which was the first Australian jazz Band to achieve international renown.

Music

The piano music written by Carter-Varney is contemporary and melodious in style with lush harmonic structure. Many of the pieces are reflective of the Australian bush birds and animals. The Artamidae, one of her most popular recital pieces has been written around the songs of three little butcher birds who were singing in the tree tops in her garden.

Art has been an inspiration for much of the music, and art works from Wild Hearts Gallery Buderim Queensland have been used for the covers with designs organised by Gallery Director, Kathleen Tulley. The collection has been entitled Piano Art.

Selected works

Piano

Summer Dreaming

Advanced piano
Summer Dreaming (2005)
The Kingfisher (2005)
Turtles (2005)
The Golden Gecko (2005) ^[1]

Kool Jazzy Tunes

Easy piano levels
Ants In Your Pants (2005)
Muffins for Free (2005)
Waltz for Lu Lu (2005)
Top Dog Ted (2005)
Ted Goes To Town (2005)
The Saints for Two (duet version) (2005) ^[2]

Kool Piano

Intermediate Piano
Prelude: Noosa Waters (2005)
Dancing Girl (2005)
The Lonely Doll (2005)
Glider in the Sky (2005) ^[3]

Recital Series

Single Sheet Music The Artamidae (2005) ^[4]
Sonic Fantasy (2005) ^[5]
Shades of Blue (2005) ^[6]

Footnotes

Recurring references

• , Australian Music Centre website.
• , Glen Carter-Varney website.
• , Contemporary Music and Technology website.