John Henry Antill, CMG, OBE (8 April 190429 December 1986) was an Australian composer best known for his ballet Corroboree

Corroboree (ballet)

Corroboree is a ballet written by Australian composer John Antill in the 1940s. It was first performed as a concert suite in 1946. In July 1950 it was performed as a ballet, at the Empire Theatre in Sydney, choreographed by Rex Reid, with dancers of the Melbourne-based National Theatre...

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Biography

Antill was born in Sydney

Sydney

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...

 in 1904, and was educated and trained in music at Trinity Grammar School, Sydney and St Andrew's Cathedral School

St Andrew's Cathedral School

St Andrew's Cathedral School is an independent, non-selective, Anglican, co-educational, day school located in the heart of the city of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...

. Upon leaving school in 1920 he became apprenticed to New South Wales Government Railways

New South Wales Government Railways

The New South Wales Government Railways was the government department that operated the New South Wales Government's railways until the establishment of the Public Transport Commission in 1972. Although later known officially as the Department of Railways, New South Wales, it was still generally...

. He left the railways five years later to study full-time at the New South Wales Conservatorium of Music

Sydney Conservatorium of Music

The Sydney Conservatorium of Music is one of the oldest and most prestigious music schools in Australia...

 under Alfred Hill

Alfred Hill

Alfred Francis Hill CMG OBE was an Australian/New Zealand composer, conductor and teacher.-Biography:Alfred Hill was born in Melbourne in 1869. His year of birth is shown in many sources as 1870, but this has now been disproven. He spent most of his early life in New Zealand...

. After he graduated he played in both the NSW State Orchestra and 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...

, and from 1932 to 1934 he toured with the J. C. Williamson

J. C. Williamson

James Cassius Williamson was an American actor and later Australia's foremost theatrical manager, founding J. C. Williamson Ltd....

 Imperial Opera Company.

In 1936 he became assistant Music Editor with the Australian Broadcasting Commission

Australian Broadcasting Corporation

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...

 (ABC). He remained with the ABC until his retirement in 1968, having taken up the position of ABC Federal Music Editor in the meantime.

His most famous work, Corroboree

Corroboree (ballet)

Corroboree is a ballet written by Australian composer John Antill in the 1940s. It was first performed as a concert suite in 1946. In July 1950 it was performed as a ballet, at the Empire Theatre in Sydney, choreographed by Rex Reid, with dancers of the Melbourne-based National Theatre...

, was first performed as a concert suite in 1946. He based his composition on a real corroboree

Corroboree

A corroboree is a ceremonial meeting of Australian Aborigines. The word was coined by the European settlers of Australia in imitation of the Aboriginal word caribberie. At a corroboree Aborigines interact with the Dreamtime through dance, music and costume. Many ceremonies act out events from the...

, which he witnessed in 1912 at La Perouse

La Perouse, New South Wales

Lapérouse is a suburb in south-eastern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The suburb of Lapérouse is located about 14 kilometres south-east of the Sydney central business district, in the City of Randwick....

 in Sydney. He had intended the work as a ballet

Ballet

Ballet is a type of performance dance, that originated in the Italian Renaissance courts of the 15th century, and which was further developed in France and Russia as a concert dance form. The early portions preceded the invention of the proscenium stage and were presented in large chambers with...

, but it was not performed as such until 1950.

The 1950 ballet premiere of this work was hailed as a "coming-of-age" milestone in Australian cultural life, although to modern eyes it appears a quaint and disconcerting period piece reflecting dated views of indigenous Australia. A new version of the ballet, performed in 1954, was choreographed by American-born dancer, choreographer and writer Beth Dean who, with her Australian husband, Victor Carell, spent eight months in parts of central and northern Australia to capture a more authentic understanding. The National Museum of Australia

National Museum of Australia

The National Museum of Australia was formally established by the National Museum of Australia Act 1980. The National Museum preserves and interprets Australia's social history, exploring the key issues, people and events that have shaped the nation....

 holds a large collection of costumes, props and ephemera from the Dean production. Dean and Carell also wrote a biography of John Antill titled Gentle Genius, published in 1987.

In 1971, Antill was appointed an Officer (OBE) of the Order of the British Empire

Order of the British Empire

The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...

 for services to Australian music. In 1981, he was made a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George

Order of St Michael and St George

The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is an order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince Regent, later George IV of the United Kingdom, while he was acting as Prince Regent for his father, George III....

 (CMG). In 1985, the year before his death, he received an Honorary Doctorate

Honorary degree

An honorary degree or a degree honoris causa is an academic degree for which a university has waived the usual requirements, such as matriculation, residence, study, and the passing of examinations...

 in Creative Arts from the University of Wollongong

University of Wollongong

The University of Wollongong is a public university located in the coastal city of Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia, approximately 80 kilometres south of Sydney...

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External links

• Listen to an excerpt of John Antill's 'Cooroboree' on australianscreen online
• 'Cooroboree' was added to the National Film and Sound Archive's Sounds of Australia registry in 2007
• http://www.nla.gov.au/pub/nlanews/2004/mar04
• Australia Dancing - Beth Dean