Beryl Kimber

{{Short description|Australian violinist and educator (1928–2022)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=December 2022}}{{Use Australian English|date=December 2022}} {{Infobox person | name = Beryl Kimber | honorific_suffix = {{Post-nominals|country=AUS|OBE|size=100}} | image = Beryl Kimber.jpg | caption = Beryl Kimber in 1946 | birth_date = {{Birth date|1928|06|03|df=y}} | birth_place = [[Perth]], Western Australia | death_date = {{Death date and age|2022|11|25|1928|06|03|df=y}} | death_place = [[Sydney]], New South Wales, Australia | occupation = Violinist, violin teacher | employer = [[Elder Conservatorium of Music]] }}

'''Beryl Kimber''' {{Post-nominals|country=AUS|OBE}} (3 June 1928 – 25 November 2022) was an Australian violinist. In addition to her performing career, she taught violin at the [[Elder Conservatorium of Music]] for 34 years.

== Career == Kimber was born in [[Perth]], Western Australia but grew up in [[Hobart]], Tasmania. She studied piano with Miss S. Honey<ref>{{cite news |date=27 November 1937 |title=Music Exams |volume=XCVI |page=8 (Late News Edition and Daily) |newspaper=[[The Examiner (Tasmania)]] |issue=223 |location=Tasmania, Australia |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article52171843 |accessdate=24 December 2022 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> and in 1942 was awarded an [[Associate in Music, Australia|AMusA]] by the Australian Music Examinations Board at age 14.<ref>{{cite news |date=26 November 1942 |title=Promising Violinist |volume=CLVI |page=15 |newspaper=The Mercury |issue=22,462 |location=Tasmania, Australia |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article25942621 |accessdate=24 December 2022 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> She moved to Melbourne to study with [[Jeanne Gautier]], a French violinist.<ref>{{cite news |date=30 August 1944 |title=Violinist Returns |volume=60 |page=3 |newspaper=[[The West Australian]] |issue=18,140 |location=Western Australia |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article44821204 |accessdate=24 December 2022 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> In 1944, she was a finalist in the Conservatorium's concerto festival and performed the third movement of [[Max Bruch]]'s [[Violin Concerto No. 1 (Bruch)|Violin Concerto in G minor]] with the [[Melbourne Symphony Orchestra]], conducted by [[Bernard Heinze]].<ref>{{cite news |date=28 September 1944 |title=Eight Soloists At Concerto Festival |page=8 |newspaper=[[The Argus (Melbourne)]] |issue=30,604 |location=Victoria, Australia |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article11363016 |accessdate=25 December 2022 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> She later moved to Sydney where she was a pupil of [[Jascha Gopinko]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Watkins |first=Stephen |date=2022-12-19 |title=A 'rock star' violinist during classical music's halcyon days |url=https://www.smh.com.au/national/a-rock-star-violinist-during-classical-music-s-halcyon-days-20221219-p5c7cx.html |access-date=2022-12-24 |website=The Sydney Morning Herald |language=en}}</ref> In 1946, she won a British Council Scholarship at the [[ABC Young Performers Awards]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=YPA Winners & Finalists |url=https://youngperformersawards.org/winners-finalists/ |access-date=2022-12-24 |website=ABC Young Performers Awards}}</ref> which led to her studying at the [[Royal Academy of Music]]. From there, she won a full scholarship to continue her studies in Paris with [[George Enescu|Georges Enesco]], a Romanian violinist.<ref name=":0" />

Kimber debuted at Wigmore Hall in 1950 and in following years performed under conductors including [[Adrian Boult]], [[Malcolm Sargent]] and [[John Barbirolli]] in England and [[Kirill Kondrashin]] in the Soviet Union.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Watkins |first=Stephen |date=2022-11-29 |title=Vale Beryl Kimber Leske |url=https://www.abc.net.au/classic/read-and-watch/news/vale-beryl-kimber-leske/101713362 |access-date=2022-12-24 |website=ABC Classic |language=en-AU}}</ref> In Moscow in 1958, she won a Diploma of First Distinction at the inaugural International Tchaikovsky Competition, following which she studied for a year with Soviet violinist [[David Oistrakh]].<ref name=":0" />

Kimber returned to Australia and joined the [[Elder Conservatorium of Music]] in 1964 as a lecturer, rising to associate professor prior to her retirement in 1998.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=Remembering Beryl Kimber OBE |url=https://www.adelaide.edu.au/staff/news/news/list/2022/12/07/remembering-beryl-kimber-obe |access-date=2022-12-24 |website=University of Adelaide |language=en}}</ref> Her students included [[Adele Anthony]], [[Luke Dollman]] and [[Niki Vasilakis]].<ref name=":2" />

== Awards and recognition == In the [[1980 New Year Honours]], Kimber was appointed an Officer of the British Empire (OBE) for service to music.<ref>{{Cite web |date=28 December 1979 |title=Supplement to The London Gazette, 31st December 1979 |url=https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/48042/page/20 |access-date=2022-12-24 |website=The London Gazette |pages=20}}</ref> She was presented with the [[Sir Bernard Heinze Memorial Award]] in 1990.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Hall of Fame: Sir Bernard Heinze AC 1894–1982 |url=https://liveperformance.com.au/hof-profile/bernard-heinze-ac-1894-1982/ |access-date=2022-12-24 |website=Live Performance Australia}}</ref>

== Personal == In 1969, Kimber married pianist Clemens Theodor Leske (1923–2019).<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-07-13 |title=Clemens Theodor LESKE AM Death Notice |url=https://tributes.smh.com.au/obituaries/8625/clemens-theodor-leske-am/ |access-date=2022-12-24 |website=Sydney Morning Herald}}</ref>

Kimber died on 25 November 2022, at the age of 94. Their son, Clemens Leske, is a concert pianist and academic.<ref name=":1" />

== References == {{Reflist}}

[[Category:1928 births]] [[Category:2022 deaths]] [[Category:Violin educators]] [[Category:Australian Officers of the Order of the British Empire]] [[Category:Musicians from Perth, Western Australia]] [[Category:Australian women classical violinists]] [[Category:20th-century Australian women musicians]] [[Category:20th-century Australian classical violinists]]