vc, GB
Musician / Conductor of Classical
John Hopkins OBE AM (19 July 1927 - 30 September 2013) was a British-born Australian conductor. One of Australia's most esteemed conductors and administrators, British-born John Hopkins OBE AM (19 July 1927 - 30 September 2013) trained as a cellist with Haydn Rogerson at the Royal Manchester College of Music, then studied conducting with Joseph Lewis at the Guildhall School, London, and with Carlo Zecchi at the Mozarteum in Salzburg. He became assistant conductor of the BBC Scottish Orchestra at a young age in 1949, then conductor of the BBC Northern Orchestra in 1952. Hopkins moved to New Zealand in 1957 where he lead the National Orchestra of New Zealand (later NZSO) as well as the New Zealand Opera Company, and founded the New Zealand National Youth Orchestra. In 1963 he moved to Australia where he soon became recognised as an innovator. As Federal Director of Music for the ABC - a leadership position responsible for the activities of all the then ABC orchestras - he oversaw the most vibrant and prolific period in terms of performances of Australian music new and old. Hopkins initiated a concert series featuring avant-garde works by international composers as well as actively championing the work of Australian artists Peter Sculthorpe, Nigel Butterley and Richard Meale. He held the post until 1973. Hopkins conducted the Melbourne and Sydney Symphony Orchestras, and completed numerous overseas tours to conduct orchestras from Belgium, Holland, Sweden, Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia, the USSR, Canada, the USA, South Africa and Japan. Other career highs included becoming the founding Dean of the College of Music at the Victorian College of the Arts, and enjoying a six-year tenure as Director of Sydney Conservatorium of Music. John Hopkins was Convenor of Conducting and an Honorary Professorial Fellow in the School of Music at the University of Melbourne. He was awarded the APRA/AMC Award for Distinguished Services to Australian Music in 2011. Hopkins published his memoirs, The point of the baton (written in collaboration with William Cottam), in 2009.
Track list and 30sec audio provided by
Title | Artist | Year | Type |
---|---|---|---|
The Orchestral Works Of Percy Grainger, Vol. 2 | Percy Grainger, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra Conducted By John Hopkins | 1998 | Album |
The Three Symphonies | Douglas Lilburn – The New Zealand Symphony Orchestra / John Hopkins | 1994 | Album |
Piano Concertos | Aaron Copland / Benjamin Britten - Gillian Lin, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, John Hopkins | 1992 | Album |
Drysdale Overture / A Birthday Offering / Prodigal Country | Douglas Lilburn, The New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, David Griffiths, Orpheus Choir Of Wellington, Sir Charles Groves, John Hopkins | 1987 | Album |
Southern Cross / Ice Carvings | Barry Conyngham / Roger Woodward, Wanda Wilkomirska, Wilfred Lehmen, The Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Niklaus Wyss, John Hopkins | 1986 | Album |
Symphony No. 1 / Festival Overture / Suite For Orchestra | Douglas Lilburn, The New Zealand Symphony Orchestra Conducted By John Hopkins | 1986 | Album |
Mendelssohn And Bruch Violin Concertos | Vincent Aspey With The New Zealand Symphony Orchestra Conducted By John Hopkins | 1984 | Album |
Orchestral Works Volume Five: The Warriors, English Dance, Fisher's Boarding House, The Power Of Rome And The Christian Heart | Percy Grainger, John Hopkins, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra | 1984 | Album |
Gillian Lin Plays Piano Concertos By Britten & Copland | Gillian Lin, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, John Hopkins - Benjamin Britten & Aaron Copland | 1982 | Album |
Invitation To The Dance | The New Zealand Symphony Orchestra Conducted By John Hopkins | 1981 | Album |
The Orchestral Works Of Percy Grainger Vol. III | Percy Grainger, Adelaide Symphony Orchestra Conducted By John Hopkins | 1980 | Album |
Piano Concerto No. 1 In B Flat Major | Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky / Percy Grainger / Melbourne Symphony Orchestra / John Hopkins | 1980 | Album |
Sun Music I II III IV: Orchestral Music of Peter Sculthorpe | Peter Sculthorpe, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, John Hopkins | 1977 | Album |
The Australian Youth Orchestra | Australian Youth Orchestra Conducted By John Hopkins | 1977 | Album |
Rites Of Passage - The Chorales | Peter Sculthorpe, John Hopkins, Victorian College Of The Arts Orchestra, Melbourne Chorale | 1976 | Album |
The Music Of Sir Eugene Goossens | John Hopkins / Sir Eugene Goossens | 1976 | Album |
The Orchestral Works Of Percy Grainger, Vol. 1 | Percy Grainger, The Sydney Symphony Orchestra Conducted By John Hopkins | 1973 | Album |
Clouds Now And Then / Homage To Garcia Lorca / Fern Hill / Jingles | Richard Meale, Raymond Hanson, George Dreyfus, Molly McGurk, West Australian Symphony Orchestra, John Hopkins, Bernard Heinze | 1972 | Album |
The Music Of Percy Grainger | Percy Grainger, The Sydney Symphony Orchestra Conducted By John Hopkins | 1968 | Album |
Sun Music I • Irkanda IV / Sinfonietta | Peter Sculthorpe / Dorian Le Gallienne / Melbourne Symphony Orchestra Conducted By John Hopkins | 1965 | Album |
Dvorak: Symphony No 8 In G | Australian Youth Orchestra conducted by John Hopkins | Album |