Andrew Nikolic (Bass, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I acknowledge and welcome Oakwood School, which is somewhere in the student galleries, from my electorate of Bass. But I rise today to pay tribute to Peter Sculthorpe AO, OBE, as a musical giant of Australia—a composer who changed our musical landscape forever. Peter Sculthorpe's death on 8 August was widely mourned—and not just in Australia, where he found the inspiration for his influential orchestral compositions. He took Australian classical music to the world and, in the process, built an international reputation. Peter Sculthorpe was born in Launceston, in my electorate of Bass, and was educated at Launceston Church Grammar School, where his musical talent was nurtured—although he liked to tell the story of one of his music teachers who forbade him from composing because 'all the composers are dead' and told him to concentrate on his playing. Thankfully, he ignored that advice.

It is said that his Sun Music series in the 1960s was the beginning of the first identifiably Australian sound in classical music. Later pieces like Kakadu brought the drama and rugged beauty of the Australian landscape to musical life. He was also a mentor and a teacher to generations of Australian composers. Despite his stellar international career, he regularly visited his old school and celebrated his 80th birthday with students and staff at Launceston Church Grammar School. Peter Sculthorpe was a wonderful Launcestonian and an inspiration for many Tasmanians. He leaves a magnificent musical legacy and will be greatly missed by music lovers around the world.