Betty Beath

Elizabeth Margaret "Betty" Beath, née Eardley, (born 19 November 1932) is an Australian composer, pianist, and music educator.

Life and career

Betty Beath was born in Bundaberg, Queensland, and began piano lessons at the age of three.[1] She was twice a finalist in the ABC Concerto competition when in her teens.[2] In 1950, she was awarded a University of Queensland Music Scholarship,[3] which took her to study under the composer and pianist, Frank Hutchens at the Sydney Conservatorium and also at the Queensland Conservatorium, with Max Olding and Dr. Janet Delpratt.[4]

After completing her education, Beath settled in Brisbane and took positions as an accompanist and later teacher at Queensland Conservatorium and was Head of Music at St. Margaret's Girls' School, Brisbane. She is an Examiner with the Australian Music Examinations Board.[5] Beath received a Southeast Asian Fellowship from the Australia Council in 1974 to conduct research in Bali and Java.[6] She is married to author/illustrator, David Cox.

She represented women composers of Australia at the 3rd International Congress on Women in Music, held in Mexico City in 1984.[3] She has also been an executive member of the International League of Women Composers.[2]

State Library of Queensland has in its collection a digital story and oral history of Betty Beath. In this extensive interview she speaks with Laurel Dingle about her life as a music composer, performer and teacher, from her earliest memories to the present day. (1950-2014).[7]

Betty Beath

Works

Beath, at times, incorporates [world music] themes into her compositions, including music from Bali and Java.[8] Selected works include:

ORCHESTRAL • Asmaradana (1994), for Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra. First performance Taman Ismail Marzuki, Jakarta,18/6/1994. • Journeys - an indonesian triptych (1994), Commissioned by the Queensland Philharmonic Orchestra. • Dreams and visions (1996), Commissioned by the Queensland Symphony Orchestra. • Woman's song: Allegro Vivace for Strings,(1999). Published by Wirripang. • Lament for kosovo: Adagio for Strings, (1999). Published by Wirripang. • Lagu lagu manis (1994)

ORCHESTRAL WITH SOLOIST • In this garden (1973). • Riddles (1974) a cycle of four songs for Voice and Orchestra. 1. The Cry 2. In An English Garden 3. In Spanish Mountains 4. In the Carnarvon Ranges. • From a Quiet Place, 3 Pieces for viola and piano (1997) • Mikri Thalassa for 2 mandolins, mandola and guitar • Adagio for Strings: Lament for Kosovo • Towards the Psalms, settings of texts from the novel Fugitive Pieces by Anne Michaels • Merindu Bali, programmed • River Songs for soprano with ensemble • Abigail and the Bushranger with David Cox • Abigail and the Rainmaker for treble choir with piano • Lagu lagu Manis II for chamber orchestra • Heart song for solo cello • Poverello: St. Francis of Assisi, a Saint for Our Times


The English Wikipedia has no commercial interest in all the commercial institutions below but we feel obliged to mention that music of Betty Beath is recorded and issued on CD, including:

References

  1. ↑ LePage, Jane Weiner (1988). Women composers, conductors, and musicians of the twentieth century.
  2. 1 2 Bebbington, Warren (1997). The Oxford Companion to Australian Music. Melbourne: Oxford University Press. p. 53. ISBN 0195534328.
  3. 1 2 Sadie, Julie Anne (1995). The Norton/Grove Dictionary of Women Composers. London: Macmillan Press Ltd. p. 51. ISBN 0333515986.
  4. ↑ Sadie, Julie Anne; Samuel, Rhian (1994). The Norton/Grove dictionary of women composers (Digitized online by GoogleBooks). Retrieved 23 January 2011.
  5. ↑ "The Bourbaki Ensemble" (PDF). Retrieved 23 January 2011.
  6. ↑ "Betty Beath : Represented Artist". Retrieved 23 January 2011.
  7. ↑ Beath, Betty; Dingle, Laurel (2014), Betty Beath Digital Story and Oral History 2014, retrieved 24 January 2017
  8. ↑ Pendle, Karin (2001). Women and music.
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