Australian conductor
For other people named John Hopkins, see John Hopkins (disambiguation).
John Raymond HopkinsAMOBE (19 July &#;&#; 30 September ) was a British-born Australian conductor and administrator.
John Hopkins[1] was born in Yorkshire in He was the assistant conductor of the BBC Scottish Orchestra from to and then conductor of the BBC Northern Orchestra until He relocated to New Zealand in to succeed James Robertson as conductor of the then National Orchestra (now the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra). In he founded the New Zealand National Youth Orchestra. He was present for the orchestra's 50th anniversary season in [2] As part of his contribution to youth music he also conducted the South African National Youth Orchestra.
Hopkins moved to Australia in As the Federal Director of Music for the Australian Broadcasting Commission (ABC), Hopkins began a number of innovations within the ABC's Concert Music Division, such as starting an Australian Promenade (Proms) series in Sydney in [3]:&#;&#; and broadcasting international avant-garde classical music.[3]:&#;&#; As a part of the Proms concerts, Hopkins programmed a variety of music, from the Renaissance, performed by the Sydney group the Renaissance Players,[4]:&#;27&#; the then rarely performed music of Hector Berlioz, Gustav Mahler and Sir Edward Elgar,[4]:&#;30&#; avant-garde music from overseas[3]:&#;&#; and Australia.[5] The Australian composers who wrote music for the concerts included Peter Sculthorpe, Nigel Butterley and Richard Meale.[4]:&#;32&#; Hopkins resigned from the Director's post in [3]:&#;&#; due to a number of factors, including tensions with staff within the ABC Concert Music Division.[4]:&#;40&#;[3]:&#;&#; In he became the inaugural dean of the School of Music at the newly formed Victorian College of the Arts (VCA) (now the University of Melbourne Faculty of VCA and MCM).
In , Hopkins led the world premiere of Peter Sculthorpe's opera/music theatre work Rites of Passage. He was director of the Sydney Conservatorium of Music from to He conducted the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra in in one of New Zealand's first Orchestral Composers' Reading Workshops. He was a professor of conducting at the University of Melbourne, Faculty of VCA and MCM, along with guest conducting with community and youth orchestras until the time of his death.
Hopkins died on 30 September , aged [6][7][8]
Hopkins was named an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the Queen's Birthday Honours of [1] He was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in the Queen's Birthday Honours of "for significant service to the performing arts, particularly as a conductor, to music education, and to the community".[9]
The Sir Bernard Heinze Memorial Award is given to a person who has made an outstanding contribution to music in Australia.