Roy David Page (1961 – 28 April 2016), known as Dubboo to his close friends, was an Australian composer (he preferred the term "songman") who was the

music director A music director, musical director or director of music is a person responsible for the musical aspects of a performance, production, or organization. This would include the artistic director and usually chief conductor of an orchestra or concert ...

of the

Bangarra Dance Theatre Bangarra Dance Theatre is an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander dance company focused on contemporary dance. It was founded by African American dancer and choreographer Carole Y. Johnson, Gumbaynggirr man Rob Bryant, and South African-bor ...

. He was descended from the Nunukul people and the Munaldjali clan of the

Yugambeh people The Yugambeh ( ''(see alternative spellings)''), also known as the Minyangbal ( ), or Nganduwal ( ), are an Aboriginal Australian people of South East Queensland and the Northern Rivers of New South Wales, their territory lies between the L ...

of south-east

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

, and brother of choreographer Stephen Page and dancer

Russell Page Montague Russell Page OBE (1 November 1906 – 4 January 1985) was a British gardener, garden designer and landscape architecture, landscape architect. He worked in the UK, western Europe and the United States of America. Biography Montague ...

. He was also an actor, singer and drag artist.

Early life and education

Page was born in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

, the eighth of twelve children, and grew up in

Mount Gravatt Mount Gravatt is a southern Suburbs and localities (Australia), suburb of the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia and a prominent hill and lookout within this suburb (). In the , Mount Gravatt had a population of 3,733 people. Geography T ...

. His father was Aboriginal/ Chinese and his mother was of Maori, Spanish, Irish and Aboriginal heritage. Two of his brothers were Stephen Page and

, and Kirk Page was his cousin. Page embarked on a singing career as a teenager under the name "Little Davey Page", and was the first Australian to be signed to

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over the course of its first two decades, starting from the release of its first recor ...

. He released a cover of the

Neil Sedaka Neil Sedaka (; born March 13, 1939) is an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Since his music career began in 1957, he has sold millions of records worldwide and has written or co-written over 500 songs for himself and other artists, collabo ...

song '' Happy Birthday Sweet Sixteen'' in 1975, and appeared on TV shows including ''

Countdown A countdown is a sequence of backward counting to indicate the time remaining before an event is scheduled to occur. NASA commonly employs the terms "L-minus" and "T-minus" during the preparation for and anticipation of a rocket launch, and eve ...

'' and '' The Paul Hogan Show''. Page studied

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to p ...

, voice and composition at the Centre for Aboriginal Studies in Music within the

Elder Conservatorium of Music The Elder Conservatorium of Music, also known as "The Con", is located in the centre of Adelaide, the capital of South Australia, and is named in honour of its benefactor, Sir Thomas Elder (1818–1897). Dating in its earliest form from 1883 ...

at the

University of Adelaide The University of Adelaide is a public university, public research university based in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. Its main campus in the Adelaide city centre includes many Sa ...

. He became known as "Dubboo" to his friends.

Career

Page worked at NAISDA Dance College as music producer as well as bus driver and janitor. He joined the Bangarra Dance Theatre in 1991 as resident composer along with his brothers Stephen Page (choreographer) and Russell (dancer), turning it into a "global phenomenon". Page composed the scores for 27 of Bangarra's works. He was appointed Artist-in-Residence in 2011. His last composition was for the company's work ''Nyapanyapa'', which premiered in June 2016. He described himself as a "songman" rather than a composer, saying "I dream it and I'm good at producing it". Page performed a one-man show of his life story, directed by his brother Stephen, called ''Page 8'', at the

Belvoir St Theatre Belvoir is an Australian theatre company based at the Belvoir St Theatre in Sydney, Australia, originally known as Company B. Its artistic director is Eamon Flack. The theatre comprises two performing spaces: the Upstairs Theatre and the small ...

in 1994 and then toured it in

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

and

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, restaging it in 2014 for Bangarra's 25th anniversary. He performed in the Queensland Theatre Company's production of ''Mother Courage and her children'' in 2013, and the QTC and

Sydney Festival Sydney Festival is a major arts festival in Australia's largest city, Sydney, that runs for three weeks every January since it was established in 1977. The festival program features over 100 events from local and international artists and inclu ...

production ''Black Diggers'' in 2014. Page appeared on screen in television shows ''

Prisoner A prisoner, also known as an inmate or detainee, is a person who is deprived of liberty against their will. This can be by confinement or captivity in a prison or physical restraint. The term usually applies to one serving a Sentence (law), se ...

'' and ''

Black Comedy Black comedy, also known as black humor, bleak comedy, dark comedy, dark humor, gallows humor or morbid humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally ...

'', made a brief appearance in the 1997 film ''

Oscar and Lucinda ''Oscar and Lucinda'' is a novel by Australian author Peter Carey. It won the 1988 Booker Prize the year it was released, and the 1989 Miles Franklin Award. It was shortlisted in 2008 for The Best of the Booker, in celebration of the prize's ...

'' as an Aboriginal busker and in ''

Bran Nue Dae __NOTOC__ ''Bran Nue Dae'' is a 1990 musical set in Broome, Western Australia, that tells stories and of issues relating to Indigenous Australians. It was written by Jimmy Chi and his band Kuckles and friends, and was the first Aboriginal Aust ...

'' (2009) as a dancer. He played a DJ, Kenny, in the 2005 half-hour film ''Green Bush'', directed by

Warwick Thornton Warwick Thornton is an Australian film director, screenwriter, and cinematographer. His debut feature film '' Samson and Delilah'' won the Caméra d'Or at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival and the award for Best Film at the Asia Pacific Screen Awar ...

. Page collaborated with Steve Francis on music for the

2000 Summer Olympics opening ceremony The opening ceremony of the 2000 Summer Olympics took place on the evening of Friday, 15 September 2000 in Stadium Australia, Sydney, during which the Games were formally opened by then-Governor-General Sir William Deane. As mandated by the Oly ...

and the Sydney Olympic Arts Festival in 2000, and the Sydney Dreaming Festival in 2002. He composed music for

The Australian Ballet The Australian Ballet (TAB) is the largest classical ballet company in Australia. It was founded by J. C. Williamson Theatres Ltd and the Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust in 1962, with the English-born dancer, teacher, repetiteur a ...

's ''Alchemy'' in 1997 and ''Amalgamate'' (with

Elena Kats-Chernin Elena Davidovna Kats-Chernin (born 4 November 1957) is an Uzbek-born Australian composer and pianist, best known for her ballet ''Wild Swans''. Early life and education Elena Kats-Chernin was born in Tashkent (now the capital of independent Uz ...

) in 2007. Page composed music for various television programs including '' Heartland'', ''Songlines'', and '' Living Black''. His film scores included '' Kanyini'' (2006), ''Hush'' (2007), and ''Jacob'' (2009). In 2015, he composed the music for his brother Stephen's directorial film debut, ''

Spear A spear is a polearm consisting of a shaft, usually of wood, with a pointed head. The head may be simply the sharpened end of the shaft itself, as is the case with Fire hardening, fire hardened spears, or it may be made of a more durable materia ...

''. He was among the creatives involved in the project ''Three Brothers'', developed from 2013 and performed by Northern Rivers Performing Arts as ''

Djurra Kirk Page is an Australian dancer, singer, actor of stage and screen, movement director, and theatre director. he is associate director of Northern Rivers Performing Arts (NORPA) in Lismore, New South Wales. Early life and education Kirk Pag ...

'' in 2017, after his death. It was directed by his cousin Kirk Page.

Death and legacy

Page died on 28 April 2016 at the age of 55. His family declined to reveal the cause of death. A memorial was held at the

Queensland Performing Arts Centre The Queensland Performing Arts Centre (also known as QPAC) is part of the Queensland Cultural Centre and is located on the corner of Melbourne Street and Grey Street in Brisbane's South Bank precinct. Opened in 1985, it includes the Lyric Thea ...

with tributes from Wesley Enoch,

Christine Anu Maia Christine Anu (born on 15 March 1970) is an Australian singer-songwriter and actress of Torres Strait Islander origin. She gained popularity with the cover song release of the Warumpi Band's song " My Island Home" in 1995. Anu has been no ...

, Ursula Yovich and

Dan Sultan Daniel Leo Sultan is an Australian alternative rock singer-songwriter and guitarist, actor and author. At the ARIA Music Awards of 2010 he won Best Male Artist and Best Blues & Roots Album for his second album, '' Get Out While You Can'' (N ...

, before he was buried in a private family ceremony. A show created to honour Page was staged by Bangarra, with guest artists including

Archie Roach Archibald William Roach (8 January 1956 – 30 July 2022) was an Australian (Gunditjmara and Western Bundjalung people, Bundjalung) singer-songwriter and Aboriginal Australian, Aboriginal activist. Often referred to as "Uncle Archie", Roach wa ...

, Ursula Yovich and others, at

Carriageworks Carriageworks is a multi-arts urban cultural precinct located at the former Eveleigh Carriage Workshops in Redfern, New South Wales, Redfern, Sydney, Australia. Carriageworks showcases contemporary art and performing arts, as well as being use ...

in Sydney in 2019, called ''Dubboo – life of a songman'' in December 2018. A film of the same name, including some of this performance as well as older documentary footage and tributes by the family and others, was released in 2021. The David Page Music Fellowship was inaugurated by Bangarra in 2017, "in recognition of David's extraordinary life, his multi-talents and his contribution across so many theatrical productions". It provides mentorship and financial support for one or more music or sound artists to work in a collaborative environment for Fellows spend at least four weeks at Bangarra's studios. If the fellows are not from Sydney, flights and accommodation are paid for, and fees are paid for final compositions as well as for time working at Bangarra

Awards and nominations

ARIA Music Awards

The

ARIA Music Awards The Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (commonly known informally as ARIA Music Awards, ARIA Awards, or simply the ARIAs) is an annual series of awards nights celebrating the Australian music industry, put on by the Austr ...

is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of

Australian music The music of Australia has an extensive history made of music societies. Indigenous Australian music forms a significant part of the unique heritage of a 40,000- to 60,000-year history which produced the iconic didgeridoo. Contemporary fusions o ...

. ! , - ,

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

, ''Heartland'' (as various artists) , Best Original Soundtrack, Cast or Show Album , , , -

The Deadly Awards

The Deadly Awards, commonly known simply as The Deadlys, was an annual celebration of Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander achievement in music, sport, entertainment and community. The ran from 1995 to 2013. ! , - , Deadly Awards 1996 , ''Alchemy'' (Page) , Excellence in Film or Theatre Score , , , - , Deadly Awards 1997 , ''Fish'' (Page) , Excellence in Film or Theatrical Score: , , , - , Deadly Awards 2002 , ''Skin'' by

(Page and Steve Francis:) , Excellence in Film or Theatrical Score , , , -

Green Room Awards

Page won the Green Room Award for Best New Australian Play in 2006 for ''Page 8''.

Helpmann Awards

The

Helpmann Awards The Helpmann Awards are accolades for live entertainment and performing arts in Australia, presented by industry group Live Performance Australia (LPA) since 2001. The annual awards recognise achievements in the disciplines of musical theatre ...

is an awards show, celebrating live entertainment and performing arts in Australia, presented by industry group ''Live Performance Australia'' (LPA) since 2001. ! , - ,

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

, , ''Unaipon (Clan Act I)'' (by Bangarra Dance Theatre) , , Helpmann Award for Best Original Score , , , , rowspan="6" , , - ,

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

, , ''Mathinna'' (by Bangarra Dance Theatre) , , Best Original Score , , , - ,

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

, , ''Belong'' with Steve Francis (by Bangarra Dance Theatre) , , Best Original Score , , , - ,

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

, , ''TERRAIN'' (by Bangarra Dance Theatre) , , Best Original Score , , , - ,

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

, , ''Blak'' with PaulMac (by Bangarra Dance Theatre) , , Best Original Score , , , - ,

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

, , ''Ochres'' (by Bangarra Dance Theatre) , , Best Original Score , , , -

Sidney Myer Performing Arts Awards

The Sidney Myer Performing Arts Awards commenced in 1984 and recognise outstanding achievements in dance, drama, comedy, music, opera, circus and puppetry. , - , 2001 , , David Page , , Individual Award , , , -

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Page, David Australian male dancers Helpmann Award winners Music directors Indigenous Australian musicians 1960 births 2016 deaths Australian people of Chinese descent Australian people of Irish descent Australian people of Spanish descent Australian people of Māori descent