David Tunley, a distinguished musicologist and emeritus professor at the University of Western Australia, has died aged 94.

A foundational figure in the University of Western Australia’s music program, Tunley was renowned for his expertise in French Baroque music, particularly regarding Couperin, and his significant contributions to music education and research.

David Tunley, 1930–2024.

Originally trained as a pianist at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, he began as the first full-time lecturer in the then new UWA Department of Music in 1958, eventually appointed to a Personal Chair before moving to the Chair of Music after the retirement of Sir Frank Callaway. He was also a composition student of leading French musician Nadia Boulanger between 1964–65, travelling to France on a government scholarship.

Tunley’s academic legacy includes the authorship of eight books and more than 70 scholarly articles, as well as editions of 18th and 19th-century French music in 23 volumes.

His book The 18th-Century French Cantata is regarded as a staple in academic study of the form, and his compositional works, notably the Concerto for Clarinet (1965), are still celebrated and enjoyed by music lovers worldwide.

Among his other works as a composer...