William Southgate
Encyclopedia
See also William Wright Southgate
William Wright Southgate
William Wright Southgate was born November 27, 1800, in Newport, Kentucky. He was the son of Richard Southgate and Ann Winston Hinde. William married Adaliza Keene of Lexington, Ky...

.

Sir William Southgate is a New Zealand conductor
Conducting
Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. The primary duties of the conductor are to unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, and to listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble...

 and composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...

. He was the first New Zealand-based artist to be knighted (as a knight bachelor
Knight Bachelor
The rank of Knight Bachelor is a part of the British honours system. It is the most basic rank of a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not as a member of one of the organised Orders of Chivalry...

) (1994).

Biography

William Southgate grew up in Otago
Otago
Otago is a region of New Zealand in the south of the South Island. The region covers an area of approximately making it the country's second largest region. The population of Otago is...

. He showed an interest in music early in life and at about the age of five, he discovered a pianola which encouraged him to learn the piano. At the age of nine, he recorded in his diary that he had decided to dedicate his life to music.

Southgate attended Otago Boys' High School
Otago Boys' High School
Otago Boys' High School is one of New Zealand's oldest boys' secondary schools, located in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand. It was founded on 3 August 1863 and moved to its present site in 1885. The main building was designed by Robert Lawson and is regarded as one of the finest Gothic revival...

 from 1954 to 1959 and afterwards, the University of Otago
University of Otago
The University of Otago in Dunedin is New Zealand's oldest university with over 22,000 students enrolled during 2010.The university has New Zealand's highest average research quality and in New Zealand is second only to the University of Auckland in the number of A rated academic researchers it...

. He graduated with first class honours in both M.A. and B.Mus. and also taught composition, instrumentation and fugue
Fugue
In music, a fugue is a compositional technique in two or more voices, built on a subject that is introduced at the beginning in imitation and recurs frequently in the course of the composition....

. Among his pupils was his future wife, Rosemary.

In 1967, Southgate left New Zealand for London. He studied advanced conducting at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama
Guildhall School of Music and Drama
Guildhall School of Music and Drama is an independent music and dramatic arts school which was founded in 1880 in London, England. Students can pursue courses in Music, Opera, Drama and Technical Theatre Arts.-History:...

 having received post-graduate scholarships and graduated with the Ricordi Conductors' Prize. While working in London, he also had the opportunity to compose incidental music for a number of theatre productions including scores for the Royal Shakespeare Company
Royal Shakespeare Company
The Royal Shakespeare Company is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs 700 staff and produces around 20 productions a year from its home in Stratford-upon-Avon and plays regularly in London, Newcastle-upon-Tyne and on tour across...

.

Southgate returned to New Zealand in 1974, where he was able to continue working as a composer, conductor, and arranger. During the 1980's, he was a regular broadcaster on Radio New Zealand
Radio New Zealand
Radio New Zealand is a New Zealand public service radio broadcaster and Crown entity formed by the Radio New Zealand Act 1995. It operates news, current affairs and arts network Radio New Zealand National and classical music and jazz network Radio New Zealand Concert with full government funding...

, presenting programmes on many aspects of music and on diverse composers such as Stenhammar, Korngold
Korngold
Korngold is surname of:* Julius Korngold , Jewish Austro-Hungarian music critic* Erich Wolfgang Korngold , Jewish Austro-Hungarian film- and romantic music composer* Piano Concerto for the Left Hand...

 and Khachaturian.

Southgate has had long associations, including terms as principal conductor, with both the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra
Christchurch Symphony Orchestra
The Christchurch Symphony Orchestra is the professional orchestra of Christchurch, New Zealand...

 and the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra
New Zealand Symphony Orchestra
The New Zealand Symphony Orchestra is the national orchestra of New Zealand. It is a crown entity owned by the Government of New Zealand, with 90 full-time players....

 (NZSO) and for a number of years with the Wellington Youth Orchestra which premiered his Symphony No.1. In 1987, he emabarked on a cultural exchange visit to Finland, which allowed him to conduct seven different orchestras over a period of seven weeks.

A recording of Southgate conducting the NZSO in the orchestral music of Douglas Lilburn
Douglas Lilburn
Douglas Gordon Lilburn ONZ FRCM was a New Zealand composer.-Early life:Lilburn was born in Wanganui. He attended Waitaki Boys' High School from 1930 to 1933, before moving to Christchurch to study journalism and music at Canterbury University College...

 was released on the Continuum label. His earlier recording of Ka Puke Maeroero, composed by Gary Daverne has been released by EMI.

Works

Southgate has composed three symphonies. His Second Symphony is subtitled Music from the Old World. The symphony includes allusions to New Zealand birdsong, for example the Bellbird, Kea, Tui and Grey Warbler. At the conclusion of the symphony, a recording of actual birdsong is heard. Refer to Kaleidoscope episode with Sandra Burt, TVNZ, broadcast December 4 1988.

External links

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