2007 Bernard Heinze Award to esteemed Handel conductor Graham Abbott
Media Release, Thursday 21 December 2006
With performances of Handel’s Messiah traditionally taking place around the country during the Christmas Advent season, Australia’s most respected conductor of, and enthusiast for, Handel’s music has been named as the winner of the University of Melbourne’s 2007 Bernard Heinze Award for contribution to Australian music.
Adelaide-based Graham Abbott is a conductor who has performed Messiah with every Symphony Australia network orchestra, as well as numerous other Handel works including operas. He is a Life Member of the American Handel Society.
Mr Abbott’s repertoire apart from Handel is in the general orchestral, choral and operatic fields, spanning almost every conceivable period and style.
Born in Sydney and trained at the Sydney Conservatorium he has been a high-school Music and English teacher, a guest conductor nationally and internationally, and since the beginning of 2003 has been producer and presenter of “Keys to Music” on ABC Classic FM.
In addition to his conducting work, Mr Abbott has established a reputation as a talented music educator, having worked with Youth Music Australia (now the Australian Youth Orchestra) and as a University conductor, tutor, speaker and examiner.
He has also for many years acted as a pre-concert speaker for the Adelaide and Melbourne Symphony Orchestras, and has developed a reputation as an engaging and entertaining educator, capable of opening the world of music to the untrained music lover.
Mr Abbott says he is “thrilled and honoured to have been awarded the 2007 Bernard Heinze Award and I hope it helps focus attention on the importance of the accessibility of music to all, a desire very near to my heart which underpins all of my musical activities. I am also grateful to the Friends of the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, who nominated me for the Award”.
The Bernard Heinze Award is made each year to recognise outstanding contribution to music in Australia. It honours the memory of Sir Bernard Heinze (1894-1982), who was for 31 years Ormond Professor of Music at the University of Melbourne, and one of the major pioneers of orchestral musical life in Australia.
Former recipients include a line-up of stars from the Australian music scene including: conductor and chamber musician Richard Tognetti, conductor Richard Divall, composer Graeme Koehne, pianist Stephen McIntyre, singer Yvonne Kenny, composer Peter Sculthorpe, conductor John Hopkins and music educator Sir Frank Callaway.
Contact:
Katherine Smith
University of Melbourne Media Unit
Tel: 03 8344 3845 / 0402 460 147
Email: k.smith@unimelb.edu.au
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