Members Lecture

Margaret Sutherland AO OBE (1897-1984) is arguably one of the finest composers Australia produced during the first half of the twentieth century. She was born in Adelaide in 1897 into an extended family of artists and intellectuals. One of her aunts, Jane, was an artist, while her other two aunts were musicians:  Jessie, a lieder singer and Julia, a teacher of piano from whom Margaret received her first music lessons.  Both her parents were amateur musicians. She became a leading figure in the musical life of Melbourne - as a composer, pianist and teacher, as well as a tireless promoter of young composers and musicians. She was an active music lobbyist - as a member of numerous national arts and music organisations and, notably, as a prime agent in the early moves to secure the site for the present Victorian Arts Centre.  

This talk will present the life and some of the compositions of Margaret Sutherland with a particular emphasis on the recently discovered ‘House’ quartet which was written in 1942 and was lost for 80 years. 

Speaker Biography

Dr Jeanell Carrigan AO is currently an Associate Professor in the Collaborative Piano Unit at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, University of Sydney.  She has performed throughout Australia and Europe as a soloist, chamber musician and collaborative duo partner. Her area of research is Australian solo piano repertoire and more recently in the piano music composed by early 20th Century Australian women composers. In February 2025, she released her thirty-fifth CD of solo Australian piano and chamber works. Her publications include several books: Post-1970 Australian Piano Music (1997); Australian Piano Music of the last Twenty-Five Years (2006); Composing against the Tide (2016); A Musical Missionary. The Life and Music of Dulcie Holland (2020), (co-authored with Dr. Rita Crews OAM) Australian Piano Music 1850-1950 (2021); The Music of Meta Overman. Queen of colour and Fantasy (2021), Amayzing May. The Life and Work of May Howlett (2024); A National Treasure. Celebrating the Life and Achievements of Larry Sitsky (co-authored with Dr. Rita Crews OAM)  (2024) and over eighty critical editions of piano and chamber music written by Australian women.

Non Member $15