Dorothea Anne Franchi (17 February 1920 – 22 August 2003) was a

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 List of islands of New Zealand, smaller islands. It is the ...

pianist, harpist, music educator and composer.

Early life and education

Franchi was born in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about I ...

, New Zealand, in 1920, the daughter of Peter Rudolph and Gertrude Franchi. She studied at the

Auckland Teachers College The Auckland College of Education, earlier known as the Auckland Training College and the Auckland Teachers' Training College, was a teachers' college in Auckland, New Zealand's largest city. It was established in 1881 and was based in the Aucklan ...

and the

University of Auckland , mottoeng = By natural ability and hard work , established = 1883; years ago , endowment = NZD $293 million (31 December 2021) , budget = NZD $1.281 billion (31 December 2021) , chancellor = Cecilia Tarrant , vice_chancellor = Dawn ...

, where she graduated BMus in 1939. She then went to the

Royal College of Music The Royal College of Music is a music school, conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the Undergraduate education, undergraduate to the Doctorate, doctoral level in a ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

in 1948. She studied harp, composition and piano accompaniment.

Career

Franchi taught music at

Epsom Girls' Grammar School , motto_translation = ''Through difficulties to greatness.'' , coordinates = , type = State Single Sex Girls Secondary (Year 9–13) with Boarding Facilities , established = 12 February 1917 , MOE = 64 , principal = Lorraine Pound , colo ...

in Auckland before going to study in London. From 1953 to 1958 she took the position of musical director and pianist for the newly formed

New Zealand Ballet Company The Royal New Zealand Ballet is a ballet company based in Wellington, New Zealand. It was originally known as The New Zealand Ballet Company. History New Zealand Ballet was established in 1953 as an independent charitable trust by Royal Dani ...

, working with

Poul Gnatt Poul Rudolph Gnatt (24 March 1923 – 15 October 1995) was a Danish dancer and balletmaster active in New Zealand. Childhood Gnatt was born in Baden, Austria. His father was Kai Gnatt, flower merchant, and his mother Kaja Olsen, both fro ...

. She had a successful career as a pianist and harpist, and her works are performed internationally.

Honours and awards

Lionel Tertis Lionel Tertis, CBE (29 December 187622 February 1975) was an English violist. He was one of the first viola players to achieve international fame and a noted teacher. Career Tertis was born in West Hartlepool, the son of Polish-Jewish immigrant ...

Prize for ''Viola Rhapsody'', 1950 *

Philip Neill Memorial Prize The Philip Neill Memorial Prize is an annual prize administered by the University of Otago for excellence in original composition. The award is open to all past and present students of a university in New Zealand, except previous winners who are ...

, 1947 *The

Composers Association of New Zealand The Composers Association of New Zealand (CANZ), established in 1974, after an initial meeting of composers was organised by David Farquhar. Farquhar was the association's first president. It is a body that lobbies for the interests of New Zealand ...

KBB Citation for Services to New Zealand Music, 2000

Works

Franchi composed for orchestra, chamber ensemble, voice and instrumental performance. Selected works include: *''A Man of Life Upright'' for bass and piano *''A Wet Night in Greymouth'' for voice and piano *''Abel Tasman'' for voice, piccolo, piano and drum *''Apple-Picking Time'' for voice and piano *''Concertino'' for harmonica, harp and strings *''Do-Wack-A-Do'' (1956) – orchestral suite from the ballet of the same name *''El Bailador Inamorado'' song cycle for tenor and piano *''Eventide'' for tenor, string quartet and piano *''Four Pioneer Portraits'' (1949) – cycle of four songs for mezzo-soprano and piano based on poems by

Robin Hyde Robin Hyde, the pseudonym used by Iris Guiver Wilkinson (19 January 1906 – 23 August 1939), was a South African-born New Zealand poet, journalist and novelist. Early life Wilkinson was born in Cape Town to an English father and an Australia ...

Eileen Duggan Eileen May Duggan (21 May 1894 – 10 December 1972) was a New Zealand poet and journalist, from an Irish Roman Catholic family. She worked in Wellington as a journalist, and wrote a weekly article for the Catholic weekly '' The New Zealand ...

and

Louis Esson Thomas Louis Buvelot Esson (10 August 1878 – 27 November 1943) was an Australian poet, journalist, critic and playwright. He was a co-founder of the Pioneer Players. His second wife, Hilda Esson (nee Bull), had a career in theatre besides work ...

*''God Bless You Boy'' for voice and piano

Early life and education

Career

Honours and awards

Works

References

Further reading