Stuart Challender
| Stuart Challender | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Stuart David Challender |
| Born |
19 February 1947 Hobart, Tasmania, Australia |
| Died | 13 December 1991 (aged 44) Sydney, New South Wales, Australia |
| Genres | Classical, Opera |
| Occupation(s) | Conductor |
| Years active | 1970–1991 |
| Associated acts |
The Australian Opera Elizabethan Sydney Orchestra Sydney Symphony Orchestra |
Stuart David Challender, AO (19 February 1947 – 13 December 1991) was an Australian conductor, known particularly for his work with The Australian Opera, Elizabethan Sydney Orchestra and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra.
Challender was born in February 1947 at Hobart. His initial passion for music came from his grandmother, Thelma Driscoll, who used to sing to him as a child. In 1960, his father took him to a performance of Beethoven's Pastoral Symphony conducted by Tibor Paul, from which he decided to become a conductor.
In 1964, at age 17, Challender attended the Victorian Conservatorium of Music, at the University of Melbourne. From 1966 he worked with the then Victorian Opera Company. In 1968 he graduated from the Conservatorium and was the Victorian Opera Company's music director.
Challender began his professional conducting career in 1970. His first engagement was Kiss Me, Kate, for the Lucerne Opera. He was appointed assistant conductor at the Staatstheater Nürnberg; then came engagements in Switzerland at Zürich and Basel, where he was resident conductor at the Opera House from 1976 to 1980.
Upon returning to Australia from Europe, he joined the staff of The Australian Opera. In late 1980 Challender was assigned to conduct a single performance of The Barber of Seville, and soon after he was appointed resident conductor of the Elizabethan Sydney Orchestra and went on to conduct many of the great standards of opera.
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