Nathan Waks (born 1951) is an Australian cellist, composer, record producer, arts administrator and wine company owner.

Early years

Waks was born in 1951, into a musical family, his mother being a talented pianist."Tasting notes", ''Sydney Morning Herald'', 21 December 2010
Retrieved 22 August 2013, He showed early musical aptitude, on the piano at age four, and the cello at age seven. He attended North Sydney Boys High School but did not graduate. While there, he showed such talent at

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

that he was offered a scholarship by the visiting Scottish football manager

Tommy Docherty Thomas Henderson Docherty (24 April 1928 – 31 December 2020), commonly known as The Doc, was a Scottish football player and manager. Docherty played for several clubs, most notably Preston North End, and represented Scotland 25 times bet ...

, but he declined as he felt that music was his passion. He studied at the

Sydney Conservatorium of Music The Sydney Conservatorium of Music (SCM) — formerly the New South Wales State Conservatorium of Music, and known by the moniker "The Con" — is the music school of the University of Sydney. It is one of the oldest and most prestigious music ...

under Lois Simpson and

Robert Pikler Robert Pikler Officer of the Order of the British Empire, OBE (24 January 190916 January 1984) was a Hungarian-Australian violinist, viola, violist and teacher. Biography Pikler received his musical training in his native Budapest, first under Eu ...

.Australian Cello Awards
Retrieved 22 August 2013 He won the 1968 ABC Instrumental and Vocal Competition, and then travelled to Moscow (then the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

) to study with

Mstislav Rostropovich Mstislav Leopoldovich Rostropovich (27 March 192727 April 2007) was a Russian Cello, cellist and conducting, conductor. In addition to his interpretations and technique, he was well known for both inspiring and commissioning new works, which enl ...

. That trip was cut short because of

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

tensions (there were alleged to be irregularities with Waks's visa). He then went to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

to study under Paul Tortelier, and won a Premier Prix at the

Conservatoire de Paris The Conservatoire de Paris (), or the Paris Conservatory, is a college of music and dance founded in 1795. Officially known as the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (; CNSMDP), it is situated in the avenue Jean Ja ...

.Media Release, Senator Richard Alston, 25 November 1998
Retrieved 22 August 2013

Music career

Having returned to Australia, in 1969, he co-founded the Fidelio Quartet with Brecon Carter and John Harding.Stephen Pleskun ed., ''A Chronological History of Australian Composers and Their Compositions'' - Vol. 2
Retrieved 22 August 2013 In 1970, at age 19, Waks was appointed Principal Cellist of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, the youngest in the orchestra's history. He left the post after a year. He appeared as a soloist with all the Australian symphony orchestras, the BBC Symphony Orchestra and others. In 1974, the Sydney String Quartet was re-formed for the third time, with members Harry Curby, Dorel Tincu, Alexandru Todicescu and Waks. Harry Curby left in 1980, and in 1981 after the sudden death of Dorel Tincu, the Quartet continued with John Harding, Laszlo Kiss, Todicescu and Waks. Waks remained with the Sydney String Quartet for ten years. In 1979, he commissioned and premiered ''Requiem'' for solo cello by Peter Sculthorpe.Australian Music Centre
Retrieved 22 August 2013 He has also given premieres of works by Anne Boyd, Matthew Hindson and Gerald Glynn. For the broadcaster Andrew Olle's memorial service in the Sydney Town Hall on 22 December 1995, Peter Sculthorpe wrote a special arrangement for cello and piano of his 1947 work ''Parting'', dedicated to Olle, which was played by Nathan Waks and pianist Kathryn Selby. In 1998, Waks was appointed Chairman of the

Australia Council Creative Australia, formerly known as the Australia Council for the Arts and the Australia Council, is the country's official arts council, serving as an arts funding and advisory body for the Government of Australia. The council was announ ...

's Music Fund. The same year, he reduced his administrative commitments and returned to the Sydney Symphony as Co-Principal Cello. In 2008, he participated in the Australian premiere of Gianluigi Gelmetti's ''Cantata della vita'', with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra and various solo artists, under the composer's baton.Sydney Symphony
Retrieved 22 August 2013 He has organized concerts for singers such as

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Honorific nicknames in popular music, Nicknamed the "Chairman of the Board" and "Ol' Blue Eyes", he is regarded as one of the Time 100: The Most I ...

Rod Stewart Sir Roderick David Stewart (born 10 January 1945) is a British singer and songwriter. Known for his distinctive raspy singing voice, Stewart is among the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling music artists of all time, having sold ...

and Tiny Tim. He has also produced recordings for the Australian guitarist

John Williams John Towner Williams (born February 8, 1932)Nylund, Rob (November 15, 2022)Classic Connection review, ''WBOI'' ("For the second time this year, the Fort Wayne Philharmonic honored American composer, conductor, and arranger John Williams, who w ...

. He is a founding Director and Artistic Adviser of the Australian Chamber Orchestra, founding Director of the Australian Music Centre; has been Director of Music at the

Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is Australia’s principal public service broadcaster. It is funded primarily by grants from the federal government and is administered by a government-appointed board of directors. The ABC is ...

, Managing Director of Symphony Australia, and Board Member of the Australian National Academy of Music. He is an Ambassador of the Melba Foundation.

Compositions

Nathan Waks has written a number of film scores: * '' My Brilliant Career'' (1979) * '' Intimate Strangers'' (1981) * ''

Hunger In politics, humanitarian aid, and the social sciences, hunger is defined as a condition in which a person does not have the physical or financial capability to eat sufficient food to meet basic nutritional needs for a sustained period. In t ...

'' (1986) * '' For Love Alone'' (1986) * ''

Kangaroo Kangaroos are marsupials from the family Macropodidae (macropods, meaning "large foot"). In common use, the term is used to describe the largest species from this family, the red kangaroo, as well as the antilopine kangaroo, eastern gre ...

'' (1986; this score was based on the slow movement of Antonín Dvořák's String Quartet No. 12 in F major "American", Op. 96) He was musical director for '' The Removalists'' (1975).

Winery interests

In 2000 he became involved in the Kilikanoon Winery in the

Clare Valley The Clare Valley is a valley located in South Australia about north of Adelaide in the Clare and Gilbert Valleys council area. It is the river valley formed by the Hutt River but is also strongly associated with the roughly parallel Hill Riv ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

. Since 2007 he has headed a syndicate that owns Kilikanoon, and also Seppeltsfield in the

Barossa Valley The Barossa Valley (Barossa German: ''Barossa Tal'') is a valley in South Australia located northeast of Adelaide city centre. The valley is formed by the North Para River. It is notable as a major list of wine-producing regions, wine-producin ...

. Waks travels widely as an international ambassador for the companies.

Family

In the 1970s, Waks' partner was the operatic soprano Eilene Hannan.David Marr, "Soprano loved for ruthless wit and 'God-given' voice"
''Sydney Morning Herald'', 26 July 2014
Retrieved 15 October 2014 He later married Candice Williams, daughter of film distribution pioneer David Williams AM (1925-2009) and sister of Kim Williams."A passionate supporter of the film industry", ''Sydney Morning Herald'', 15 May 2009
Retrieved 22 August 2013 They have two children.

Discography

Albums

Awards and nominations

AACTA Awards

* 1986 - AACTA Award for Best Original Music Score ''For Love Alone'' (nom)

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. They commenced in 1987. ! , - ,

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

, ''For Love Alone'' , Best Original Soundtrack, Cast or Show Album , , ARIA Award previous winners. , -

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Waks, Nathan 1951 births Living people Date of birth missing (living people) Australian classical cellists Australian film score composers Australian male film score composers Australian arts administrators Sydney Conservatorium of Music alumni Australian food industry businesspeople People educated at North Sydney Boys High School