Ann Carr-Boyd
Encyclopedia
Ann Carr–Boyd is an Australian classical composer and musicologist. She is considered an authority on the history of European music in Australia.
. Her grandfather Albert Wentzel came to Australia in 1888 from Bohemia
, as a violinist with an orchestra helping to celebrate the centenary of European settlement. Her father Norbert Wentzel was her first teacher of piano and composition, and her uncle Charles Wentzel taught her the violin. Both her father and uncle played viola
in the Sydney Symphony Orchestra
.
Her formal music studies were at the University of Sydney
(Master of Arts; she was the university's first music graduate), and in London
with Peter Racine Fricker
and Alexander Goehr
. She married and had children in London. She returned to Sydney in 1967, where she has been involved in broadcasting, teaching, and contributing to music lexicography, such as the Australian Dictionary of Biography
and the Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians
.
In 1975 she won the Albert H. Maggs Composition Award
. She was a co-founder of the Lane Cove Symphony Orchestra (now known as the Mosman Orchestra), and she and her three daughters play in the orchestra. One of her works was performed at the official opening of the New Parliament House
, Canberra
in 1988. She now lives in Moss Vale
in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales.
figures prominently in her output.
She is perhaps best known to the general music-listening public for a short piece for mandolin
ensemble, titled Fandango. It was nominated for the Most Performed Classical Composition at the 1999 APRA Awards
, and it ranked 55 in the 2008 Classic 100 chamber survey
conducted by ABC Classic FM
radio.
Biography
Ann Kirsten Wentzel was born in SydneySydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
. Her grandfather Albert Wentzel came to Australia in 1888 from Bohemia
Bohemia
Bohemia is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands. It is located in the contemporary Czech Republic with its capital in Prague...
, as a violinist with an orchestra helping to celebrate the centenary of European settlement. Her father Norbert Wentzel was her first teacher of piano and composition, and her uncle Charles Wentzel taught her the violin. Both her father and uncle played viola
Viola
The viola is a bowed string instrument. It is the middle voice of the violin family, between the violin and the cello.- Form :The viola is similar in material and construction to the violin. A full-size viola's body is between and longer than the body of a full-size violin , with an average...
in the Sydney Symphony Orchestra
Sydney Symphony Orchestra
The Sydney Symphony Orchestra , commonly known as the Sydney Symphony, is an Australian symphony orchestra based in Sydney...
.
Her formal music studies were at the University of Sydney
University of Sydney
The University of Sydney is a public university located in Sydney, New South Wales. The main campus spreads across the suburbs of Camperdown and Darlington on the southwestern outskirts of the Sydney CBD. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and Oceania...
(Master of Arts; she was the university's first music graduate), and in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
with Peter Racine Fricker
Peter Racine Fricker
Peter Racine Fricker was an English composer who lived in the United States for the last thirty years of his life....
and Alexander Goehr
Alexander Goehr
Alexander Goehr is an English composer and academic.Goehr was born in Berlin in 1932, the son of the conductor and Schoenberg pupil Walter Goehr. In his early twenties he emerged as a central figure in the Manchester School of post-war British composers. In 1955–56 he joined Oliver Messiaen's...
. She married and had children in London. She returned to Sydney in 1967, where she has been involved in broadcasting, teaching, and contributing to music lexicography, such as the Australian Dictionary of Biography
Australian Dictionary of Biography
The Australian Dictionary of Biography is a national, co-operative enterprise, founded and maintained by the Australian National University to produce authoritative biographical articles on eminent people in Australia's history....
and the Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians
Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians
The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians. Along with the German-language Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart, it is the largest single reference work on Western music. The dictionary has gone through several editions since the 19th century...
.
In 1975 she won the Albert H. Maggs Composition Award
Albert H. Maggs Composition Award
The Albert H. Maggs Composition Award is a commission-based Australian classical composition award given in order to "encourage and assist composers who might otherwise abandon their efforts for want of means"....
. She was a co-founder of the Lane Cove Symphony Orchestra (now known as the Mosman Orchestra), and she and her three daughters play in the orchestra. One of her works was performed at the official opening of the New Parliament House
Parliament House, Canberra
Parliament House is the meeting facility of the Parliament of Australia located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. The building was designed by Mitchell/Giurgola Architects and opened on 1988 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia...
, Canberra
Canberra
Canberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...
in 1988. She now lives in Moss Vale
Moss Vale, New South Wales
Moss Vale is a town in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales, Australia, in Wingecarribee Shire. It has a population of 7,339 and is sited on the Illawarra Highway, which connects to Wollongong and the Illawarra coast via Macquarie Pass...
in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales.
Music
Ann Carr-Boyd's works encompass a symphony, concertos (piano; violin), chamber music and vocal music. The harpsichordHarpsichord
A harpsichord is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It produces sound by plucking a string when a key is pressed.In the narrow sense, "harpsichord" designates only the large wing-shaped instruments in which the strings are perpendicular to the keyboard...
figures prominently in her output.
She is perhaps best known to the general music-listening public for a short piece for mandolin
Mandolin
A mandolin is a musical instrument in the lute family . It descends from the mandore, a soprano member of the lute family. The mandolin soundboard comes in many shapes—but generally round or teardrop-shaped, sometimes with scrolls or other projections. A mandolin may have f-holes, or a single...
ensemble, titled Fandango. It was nominated for the Most Performed Classical Composition at the 1999 APRA Awards
APRA Awards
The APRA Music Awards are several award ceremonies run in Australia and New Zealand by Australasian Performing Right Association to recognise songwriting skills, sales and airplay performance by its members annually....
, and it ranked 55 in the 2008 Classic 100 chamber survey
Classic 100 chamber (ABC)
The following is a summary of the Classic 100 chamber survey conducted by the ABC Classic FM radio station during 2008.-Survey summary:-By Composer:The following 36 composers were featured in the countdown:-References:*...
conducted by ABC Classic FM
ABC Classic FM
ABC Classic FM is a classical music radio station available in Australia, and internationally online. It is operated by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation . It was established in 1976 as "ABC-FM", and later for a short time was known as "ABC Fine Music" , before adopting its current name...
radio.