# James Penberthy

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**James Penberthy** [AM](/source/Member_of_the_Order_of_Australia) (3 May 1917 – 29 March 1999) was an Australian [composer](/source/Composer) and [journalist](/source/Journalist).[1]

## Biography

He was born **Albert James Penberthy** in [Melbourne](/source/Melbourne) in 1917. He served with the [Royal Australian Navy](/source/Royal_Australian_Navy) during [World War II](/source/World_War_II). He then studied at the [University of Melbourne](/source/University_of_Melbourne), where he obtained first class honours in composition. He later studied composition with [Nadia Boulanger](/source/Nadia_Boulanger) in [Paris](/source/Paris), and conducting with Sir [John Barbirolli](/source/John_Barbirolli) in England. He made his home in [Perth](/source/Perth), Western Australia, where he founded the [West Australian Opera Company](/source/West_Australian_Opera_Company) and was co-founder of the [West Australian Ballet](/source/West_Australian_Ballet) with his third wife, the Monaco-born Russian dancer [Kira Bousloff](/source/Kira_Bousloff).

In 1975 he moved to the north coast of [New South Wales](/source/New_South_Wales). He founded the School of Arts at [Southern Cross University](/source/Southern_Cross_University). He died at [Maclean, New South Wales](/source/Maclean,_New_South_Wales), in 1999.

## Works

He wrote prolifically in many genres, but is best known for his 22 ballets and 11 operas. Among his most often performed pieces are *The Beach Inspector and the Mermaid* and *Ophelia of the Nine Mile Beach*. Many of his works have Australian Indigenous connections: the ballets *Euroka* (1947), *Brolga* (1949), *Boomerang* (1951), *The Whirlwind* (1954) and *Kooree and the Mists* (1960) are all based on Aboriginal legends, with *Kooree and the Mists* being written for Mary Joyce Miller, the first Aboriginal ballet dancer in Western Australia.[2] The operas *Larry* (1955), *The Earth Mother* (1958) and *Dalgerie* (1958) explore the relationships between the Indigenous inhabitants and the European settlers.

Penberthy's *Piano Concerto No. 2* (1955) is subtitled "Aboriginal". *Julunggul and Kadjari* (1957) is a ritual dance for orchestra. His *Sextet for flute, oboe, clarinet, horn and two bassoons* (1954) employs Aboriginal melodies and rhythms.

## Personal life

Penberthy was married four times, all four marriages ending in divorce. He had a son (David) with Dorothy (née Kerin); a son (Richard) to Barbara (née Paterson); a daughter (Tamara Walters) to [Kira Bousloff](/source/Kira_Bousloff) (née Abricossova), co-founder of the [West Australian Ballet](/source/West_Australian_Ballet);[3] and he was also married to Constance (aka Claire) Bramley.[4]

## Honours

Penberthy was awarded the degree of Doctor of Music from the University of Melbourne in 1975, and was appointed a Member (AM) of the [Order of Australia](/source/Order_of_Australia) in 1986.[5]

## References

1. [JAMES PENBERTHY : Represented Composer (1917-1999)](http://www.amcoz.com.au/composers/composer.asp?id=336) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20090119060021/http://www.amcoz.com.au/composers/composer.asp?id=336) 19 January 2009 at the Wayback Machine ([Australian Music Centre](/source/Australian_Music_Centre)) Retrieved: 9 March 2007.

1. West Australian Ballet: Our Story | [http://waballet.com.au/the-company/our-story/](http://waballet.com.au/the-company/our-story/)

1. [Sydney Morning Herald, 18 September 2001, *Bousloff, pioneer of Australian dance, dies at 87*](http://dancelines.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Bousloff.pdf)

1. [National Library of Australia: Papers of James Penberthy](http://nla.gov.au/nla.ms-ms9748)

1. [It's an Honour](https://honours.pmc.gov.au/honours/awards/869730)

## Further reading

- [Barkl, Michael](/source/Michael_Barkl). 1997. James Penberthy. *The Oxford Companion to Australian Music* (ed. [Warren Bebbington](/source/Warren_Bebbington)). Melbourne: OUP.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [James Penberthy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Penberthy) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Penberthy?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.