Limelight has been informed of the death of composer Donald Hollier. He was 89.

Born in Sydney, Hollier studied piano at the NSW State Conservatorium of Music, graduating in 1955 with the Frank Shirley Memorial Prize for the most distinguished student of the year.

In 1956, he was awarded The Vasanta Scholarship and travelled to Vienna, before continuing his studies at the Royal Academy of Music and at the National Opera School in London. He graduated from the University of London in 1961 with a Bachelor of Music.

Returning to Australia in 1962, Hollier was appointed as the first Director of Music at Sydney’s Newington College. He travelled again to London to undertake further postgraduate study, returning in 1967 to become Head of Theoretical Studies and Senior Lecturer in Composition and Musicology at the Canberra School of Music, a position he retained until 1984. He was awarded a Churchill Fellowship in 1973, and in 1974 received his D.Mus. from the University of London.

Donald Hollier

Hollier loved working with choirs. He was appointed as conductor of the Canberra Choral Society in 1976, and Musical Director of Canberra Opera in 1978, where he staged...