Deborah Joy Cheetham (born 24 November 1964), is an

Aboriginal Australian Aboriginal Australians are the various Indigenous peoples of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland and many of its islands, such as Tasmania, Fraser Island, Hinchinbrook Island, the Tiwi Islands, and Groote Eylandt, but excluding the T ...

soprano,

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), l ...

, composer and

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

Early life and education

Cheetham is a member of the

Stolen Generations The Stolen Generations (also known as Stolen Children) were the children of Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander descent who were removed from their families by the Australian federal and state government agencies and church miss ...

; she was taken from her mother when she was three weeks old"Where did all the children go?"
''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publishe ...

'', 5 July 2000 and was raised by a white baptist family.

Jimmy Little James Oswald Little, AO (1 March 19372 April 2012) was an Australian Aboriginal musician, actor and teacher, who was a member of the Yorta Yorta tribe and was raised on the Cummeragunja Reserve, New South Wales. Little started his professi ...

was her uncle. Cheetham graduated from the NSW Conservatorium of Music with a

Bachelor of Music Education A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ye ...

Degree.

Career

In 1997 Cheetham wrote the autobiographical play ''White Baptist Abba Fan'' which tells of her experiences of coming to terms with her homosexuality and racial identity while trying to reunite with her Aboriginal family. ''White Baptist Abba Fan'' has toured internationally. As a soprano, Cheetham has performed in France, Germany, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and New Zealand. She sang at the opening ceremonies of the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 ( Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from ...

and the

2003 Rugby World Cup The 2003 Rugby World Cup was the fifth Rugby World Cup. Originally planned to be hosted by India, all games were shifted to Australia following a contractual dispute over ground signage rights between the Indian Rugby Union and Rugby World Cup ...

. In October 2010, Cheetham's opera '' Pecan Summer'', based on the 1939

Cummeragunja walk-off The Cummeragunja walk-off in 1939 was a protest by Aboriginal Australians at the Cummeragunja Station, an Aboriginal reserve in southern New South Wales. Background The Cummeragunja Mission was mostly home to Yorta Yorta people who had been relo ...

, opened in

Mooroopna Mooroopna is a rural town located north of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is on the banks of the Goulburn River opposite the larger town of Shepparton. The Midland Highway crosses the river between the two towns. At the 2016 census, Moor ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

. She wrote, composed and performed in the production by the Short Black Opera Company. Cheetham has advocated for the lyrics to "

Advance Australia Fair "Advance Australia Fair" is the national anthem of Australia. Written by Scottish-born composer Peter Dodds McCormick, the song was first performed in 1878, sung in Australia as a patriotic song. It first replaced " God Save the Queen" as the ...

" to be rewritten. In 2018 Cheetham was one of 52 people who contributed to Anita Heiss's book ''

Growing Up Aboriginal In Australia ''Growing Up Aboriginal In Australia'' is a 2018 biographical anthology compiled and edited by Anita Heiss and published by Black Inc. It includes 52 short written pieces by Aboriginal Australians from many walks of life and discusses issues lik ...

'', along with

Adam Goodes Adam Roy Goodes (born 8 January 1980) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Sydney Swans in the Australian Football League (AFL). Goodes holds an elite place in VFL/AFL history as a dual Brownlow Medallis ...

, Miranda Tapsell and

Celeste Liddle Celeste Liddle (born 1978) is an Indigenous feminist (Arrernte), unionist, and writer who lives in Melbourne, Australia. Having first risen to prominence via her personal blog, ''Rantings of an Aboriginal Feminist'', Liddle has written opinion a ...

. Cheetham wrote Australia's first requiem based on the frontier wars between

first nations First Nations or first peoples may refer to: * Indigenous peoples, for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area. Indigenous groups *First Nations is commonly used to describe some Indigenous groups including: ** First Nat ...

people in South Western

and settlers between 1840–1863. The requiem, "Eumeralla, a war requiem for peace" is sung entirely in the

Gunditjmara language Dhauwurd Wurrung is a term used for a group of languages spoken by various groups of the Gunditjmara people of the Western District of Victoria, Australia. Keerray Woorroong (also spelt Girai Wurrung and variants) is regarded by some as a sepa ...

. The first performance of the requiem on 15 June 2019 featured Cheetham with the

Melbourne Symphony Orchestra The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (MSO) is an Australian orchestra based in Melbourne. The MSO is resident at Hamer Hall. The MSO has its own choir, the MSO Chorus, following integration with the Melbourne Chorale in 2008. The MSO relies on f ...

, the MSO Chorus and the Dhungala Children's Choir. In November 2019, Cheetham was appointed Professor of Practice at the Sir Zelman Cowen School of Music at

Monash University Monash University () is a public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Named for prominent World War I general Sir John Monash, it was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the state. The university h ...

. She is also the 2020 Composer in Residence at the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. Cheetham's second opera, ''Parrwang Lifts the Sky,'' will premiere during

Victorian Opera Victorian Opera is an opera company based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The company was founded in 2005 by the Victorian Government as a replacement for the Victoria State Opera. It commenced operations in January 2006 with Richard Gill as ...

's 2021 season and will be sung in the Wadawurrung language. Her work ''Ancient Land Processional'' performed in three indigenous languages, was commissioned by the

University of South Australia The University of South Australia (UniSA) is a public research university in the Australian state of South Australia. It is a founding member of the Australian Technology Network of universities, and is the largest university in South Austral ...

and is performed at every graduation ceremony . In 2022, a new short work, ''Ghost Light'', was performed as part of the

Sydney Symphony Orchestra The Sydney Symphony Orchestra (SSO) is an Australian symphony orchestra that was initially formed in 1908. Since its opening in 1973, the Sydney Opera House has been its home concert hall. Simone Young is the orchestra's chief conductor and fir ...

's 50 Fanfares Project.

Awards and honours

In the 2014 Queen's Birthday Honours List, Cheetham was appointed an Officer of the

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Go ...

(AO), for "distinguished service to the performing arts as an opera singer, composer and artistic director, to the development of Indigenous artists, and to innovation in performance". In April 2018, the

awarded Cheetham an Honorary Doctorate (D.Univ.) in recognition of her distinguished service to the community.

Australian Women in Music Awards

The Australian Women in Music Awards is an annual event that celebrates outstanding women in the

Australian Music Industry Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal ...

who have made significant and lasting contributions in their chosen field. They commenced in 2018. , - ,

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

, Deborah Cheetham , Auriel Andrew Memorial Award , , - ,

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October 2021 coup in Sudan; Crowd shortly after t ...

, Deborah Cheetham , Lifetime Achievement Award ,

Bernard Heinze Memorial Award

The

Sir Bernard Heinze Memorial Award The Sir Bernard Heinze Memorial Award, was inaugurated following the death of Sir Bernard Heinze in 1982. The award is in the form of a medallion and is given to a person who has made an outstanding contribution to music in Australia. The Award ...

is given to a person who has made an outstanding contribution to music in Australia. , - , 2019 , , Deborah Cheetham , , Sir Bernard Heinze Memorial Award , , , -

Helpmann Awards

The

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

is an awards show, celebrating live entertainment and performing arts in Australia, presented by industry group ''Live Performance Australia'' (LPA) since 2001. In 2020, Cheetham received the

JC Williamson Award The JC Williamson Award (formally known as the James Cassius Williamson Award), is an lifetime achievement award presented annually as a sector of the Helpmann Awards, governed by Live Performance Australia. The awards are named after the Ameri ...

, the LPA's highest honour, for their life's work in live performance. , - , 2020 , , Deborah Cheetham , ,

, , , -

Music Victoria Awards

The

Music Victoria Awards The Music Victoria Awards (previously known as The Age EG Awards and The Age Music Victoria Awards) are an annual awards night celebrating music from the Australian state of Victoria. They commenced in 2006 and are awarded in Melbourne Music W ...

, are an annual awards night celebrating Victorian music. They commenced in 2005. ! , - ,

, Deborah Cheetham (with Byron Scullin and Tom Supple) , Best Experimental Act or Avant-Garde Act , , , -

National Live Music Awards

The

National Live Music Awards The National Live Music Awards (NLMAs) are a broad recognition of Australia's diverse and successful live industry, celebrating the diversity and success of the Australian live scene – recognising the best vocal talents and musicians alongside ...

(NLMAs) are a broad recognition of Australia's diverse live industry, celebrating the success of the Australian live scene. The awards commenced in 2016. , - , National Live Music Awards of 2019 , Deborah Cheetham , Live Classical Act of the Year , , -

Victorian Honour Roll of Women

The

Victorian Honour Roll of Women The Victorian Honour Roll of Women was established in 2001 to recognise the achievements of women from the Australian state of Victoria. The Honour Roll was established as part of the celebrations of Victoria's Centenary of Federation. Public nom ...

was established in 2001 to recognise the achievements of women from the Australian state of Victoria. , - , 2015 , , Deborah Cheetham , , Victorian Honour Roll of Women , , , -

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cheetham, Deborah Living people People from Nowra 1964 births Australian operatic sopranos Indigenous Australian musicians Lesbian musicians Australian LGBT singers Sydney Conservatorium of Music alumni Officers of the Order of Australia Members of the Stolen Generations Australian musical theatre librettists Australian opera composers Australian women classical composers Women opera composers 20th-century LGBT people 21st-century LGBT people