Capital city of Queensland, Australia. The population was only 829 in 1846, but had risen to over 100,000 by 1900 (mostly owing to European migration) and 1.5 million in the 1990s. In the 1850s there were some visiting musicians; the first suitable venue for music was Mason's Concert Hall (1865). The most durable 19th-century musical societies were the choral and orchestral Brisbane Musical Union (established 1872, presenting mainly oratorios and cantatas) and the male-voice Brisbane Liedertafel (formed 1884), which merged with the Brisbane Orchestral Society in 1886. Many other choral and small orchestral groups were formed, but few survived. The first touring opera company came in 1864; from 1875 more arrived, particularly after the opening of the Theatre Royal in 1881 and the Opera House (later called Her Majesty's Theatre) in 1888.
The pioneer of band music was Andrew Seal, who arrived in 1857. Promenade concerts were popular, featuring vocal solos and ensembles from opera and instrumental arrangements. Bands represented the armed services (notably the Headquarters Band), the Salvation Army, particular occupations (e.g. police, railways or tramways) and local city or suburban areas. The activity of such groups has continued to the present.
The organist appointed to St John's Pro-Cathedral in 1873, Richard Jefferies, was outstanding in Brisbane's musical life up to 1900, promoting not only church music but also choral, orchestral and chamber music. He conducted Mendelssohn's Elijah at the opening of St Stephen's Roman Catholic Cathedral in 1874. He was succeeded as conductor of the Brisbane Musical Union by George Sampson in 1898. The first stage of St John's Anglican Cathedral was completed in 1910; Sampson was organist and choirmaster there, and at the Pro-Cathedral before that, for nearly 50 years (1898–1947), and conducted the Brisbane Musical Union choir to 1935. Another choral group of note was the Brisbane Austral Choir, conducted by E.R.B. Jordan. These amalgamated in 1936 as the Queensland State and Municipal Choir, still in existence as the official choir for the ABC. Other choirs were the Handel Society, which broadcast all of Handel's oratorios (many arranged by the conductor, Robert Dalley-Scarlett, from his private library of first-edition scores), the Bach Society and the Queensland University Musical Society (founded 1912).
By 1900 most middle-class homes boasted pianos, which were even being manufactured in Brisbane. Until 1930 (when the City Hall was opened), the main concert venue was the Exhibition Hall (built 1891). In the years before access to gramophone and radio, many amateur orchestral groups emerged, but most foundered because of a lack of interest in orchestral music in the community. The Brisbane Musical Union Orchestra, later called the Sampson Orchestra, was subsidized by the Queensland Government and Brisbane City Council from 1923. The ABC Orchestra joined it in 1936 to form the Brisbane SO. The first full-time professional group, the Queensland SO (55 musicians), was formed by the ABC in 1947. It offers over 100 performances each year in subscription series, mostly in the Concert Hall of the Queensland Performing Arts Trust (completed 1985). In 1995 it played Mahler's Symphony no.8 and Wagner's Parsifal in the Brisbane Biennial Arts Festival. The Queensland PO, with 31 full-time players, was formed in 1976, originally to provide support for local opera and ballet companies. By far the most enterprising and successful amateur orchestra is the Queensland Youth Symphony, conducted by its founder, John Curro, since 1966.
Various local opera and light opera companies performed with government support from 1948 onwards. The Lyric Opera of Queensland (formed 1982) has staged three operas each year since the opening of the Lyric Theatre (run by the Performing Arts Trust) in April 1985. Musica Viva Australia has presented concerts given by Australian and overseas chamber groups since 1956. The Australian Chamber Orchestra also has a subscription series.
The University of Queensland (established 1910) had no lectureship in music until 1934. The Foundation Professor of Music (Noël Nickson) arrived in 1966; the Faculty of Music was established in 1967, initially offering both practical and academic subjects in a BMus degree course and later postgraduate degrees. After several decades of public lobbying, the government finally established a conservatorium, with courses beginning in 1957, the first director being William Lovelock. Now part of Griffith University, the conservatorium offers both undergraduate and postgraduate degrees. There is also a degree course at Queensland University of Technology.
From the 1970s onwards Brisbane-based composers Colin Brumby and Philip Bracanin have earned national reputations; Mary Mageau and Betty Beath have also had many works performed. Younger composers include Gerard Brophy, Stephen Cronin, Robert Davidson, Kent Farbach, Stephen Leek, Peter Rankine and Nigel Sabin.
GroveO (A.I. Gyger)
R.K. Boughen: An Account of the Music at St John's Cathedral (thesis, U. of Queensland, 1974)
A. Schultz: Brisbane Orchestras 1920 to 1947 (MS, 1981, U. of Queensland)
J. Dawson: Opera in Colonial Brisbane: the First Twenty-Five Years (1859–1884) (thesis, U. of Queensland, 1987)
F.J. Erickson: The Bands and Orchestras of Colonial Brisbane (diss., U. of Queensland, 1987)
J. Cargher: Bravo! 200 Years of Opera in Australia (Melbourne, 1988)
GORDON D. SPEARRITT