Career

Steel was educated at Oxford and Cambridge Universities and started his career in the arts in the early 1960s as general manager of the London Mozart Players. He became assistant general secretary of the London Symphony Orchestra

London Symphony Orchestra

The London Symphony Orchestra is a major orchestra of the United Kingdom, as well as one of the best-known orchestras in the world. Since 1982, the LSO has been based in London's Barbican Centre.-History:...

 and then the first planning manager of the South Bank Concert Halls before moving to Adelaide in 1972 as the first general manager of the Adelaide Festival Centre

Adelaide Festival Centre

The Adelaide Festival Centre, Australia's first multi-purpose arts centre, was built in 1973 and opened three months before the Sydney Opera House. The Festival Centre is located approximately 50 metres north of the corner of North Terrace and King William Street, lying near the banks of the River...

 and artistic director

Artistic director

An artistic director is the executive of an arts organization, particularly in a theatre company, that handles the organization's artistic direction. He or she is generally a producer and director, but not in the sense of a mogul, since the organization is generally a non-profit organization...

 of the Adelaide Festivals of 1974, ’76 and ‘78. He returned to Adelaide to direct two more Festivals in 1984 and ’86, after a spell as general manager of the Los Angeles Philharmonic

Los Angeles Philharmonic

The Los Angeles Philharmonic is an American orchestra based in Los Angeles, California, United States. It has a regular season of concerts from October through June at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, and a summer season at the Hollywood Bowl from July through September...

 Orchestra and another as director of the Singapore Festival.

In the 1990s Steel was the founding director of two other Australian festivals – the National Festival of Australian Theatre in Canberra (1990 and 1992) and the Brisbane Biennial International Music Festival (1991 and 1993). He was producer of World Expo on Stage (the performing arts

Performing arts

The performing arts are those forms art which differ from the plastic arts insofar as the former uses the artist's own body, face, and presence as a medium, and the latter uses materials such as clay, metal or paint which can be molded or transformed to create some physical art object...

 program of World Expo 88 in Brisbane) and director of the Sydney Festivals of 1995, ‘96 and ‘97.

He has served as a member of the Australia Council

Australia Council

The Australia Council, informally known as the Australia Council for the Arts, is the official arts council or arts funding body of the Government of Australia.-Function:...

 and as the inaugural chair of that body’s Performing Arts Board. In 1978 he was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia

Order of Australia

The Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, "for the purpose of according recognition to Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or for meritorious service"...

 for services to the arts.

In late 1997 he returned to Adelaide to live. During this last decade Anthony Steel has been engaged in projects for, amongst others, the Hong Kong Arts Development Council, the South Australian and Tasmanian governments and the Sydney Opera House

Sydney Opera House

The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in the Australian city of Sydney. It was conceived and largely built by Danish architect Jørn Utzon, finally opening in 1973 after a long gestation starting with his competition-winning design in 1957...

 Trust. In 1999 he undertook a six-month engagement as executive producer for the Meryl Tankard Australian Dance Theatre and in 2000 acted as executive chair of the Barossa Music Festival. He recently completed a term as chair of the Advisory Board of the Arts Management Program of the University of South Australia, and is a member of the Board of Leigh Warren & Dancers

Leigh Warren & Dancers

Leigh Warren & Dancers is a contemporary dance company based in the South Australian capital of Adelaide. Formed in 1993 by Leigh Warren , the company has toured internationally and won several awards....

. From 1999 to 2002 he served as a Board member of the Adelaide Festival.

In 2001 he was head of school at the Flinders Street School of Music, negotiating the School’s merger with the Elder Conservatorium

Elder Conservatorium

The Elder Conservatorium of Music is Australia's senior academy of music and one of the country's most distinguished institutions for comprehensive education, professional training, and research in music...

 at Adelaide University

University of Adelaide

The University of Adelaide is a public university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third oldest university in Australia...

, which took effect on January 1, 2002. For the rest of that year he acted as a consultant to the resultant Elder School of Music for its capital works program.

In 2005 he was awarded a fellowship

Fellowship

Fellowship may refer to:* An academic position: see fellow* A merit-based scholarship, or form of academic financial aid* Fellowship , a period of medical training after a residency...

 from the Theatre Board of the Australia Council to write a memoir. In 2006 he was music director of the Coriole Music Festival and has recently been engaged in projects on behalf of The Confederation of Australian International Arts Festivals and Leigh Warren & Dancers. He is president of Recitals Australia, a member of the boards of Leigh Warren & Dancers and the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra

Adelaide Symphony Orchestra

The Adelaide Symphony Orchestra was founded as a 17 player radio ensemble in 1936, in Adelaide, South Australia. The orchestra reformed in 1949 as the 55 member South Australian Symphony Orchestra. It reverted to its original and present title, the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, in late 1974, and...

and a visiting research fellow at the University of Adelaide. In 2007 he received the premier’s lifetime achievement award at the Ruby Awards, South Australia’s annual arts and cultural awards. He wrote a series of articles about the 2008 Adelaide Bank Festival of Arts for the Independent Weekly and chaired all ten of the Festival’s lunchtime forums with visiting artists.