Roland Sylvester Peelman, is a Belgian

conductor Conductor or conduction may refer to: Biology and medicine * Bone conduction, the conduction of sound to the inner ear * Conduction aphasia, a language disorder Mathematics * Conductor (ring theory) * Conductor of an abelian variety * Cond ...

and musical director. Peelman was born in a small village near

Ghent Ghent ( ; ; historically known as ''Gaunt'' in English) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the Provinces of Belgium, province ...

, Belgium. He studied in Ghent at the conservatorium and

Ghent University Ghent University (, abbreviated as UGent) is a Public university, public research university located in Ghent, in the East Flanders province of Belgium. Located in Flanders, Ghent University is the second largest Belgian university, consisting o ...

, and then in

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

, Germany. Peelman first visited Australia with his wife in 1982. They returned not long after with their two children, officially emigrating in 1984. When he first moved, he lived in the South Australia City of Mount Gambier where he was appointed as musical director of the Mount Gambier City Band. Since this time, Peelman has worked with Australian organisations including

Opera Australia Opera Australia is the principal opera company in Australia. Based in Sydney, New South Wales, its performance season at the Sydney Opera House accompanied by the Opera Australia Orchestra runs for approximately eight months of the year, with t ...

, the

Australian Chamber Orchestra The Australian Chamber Orchestra (ACO) is an Australian orchestra focused on chamber music based in Sydney. History The Australian Chamber Orchestra was founded by cellist John Painter in 1975.Verghis, Sharon"Bach with more bite pays off" ''T ...

Opera Queensland Opera Queensland is an opera company based in Brisbane, Queensland. The company was founded with funding from the Queensland State Government in 1981 under the name ''Lyric Opera of Queensland'' after the Queensland Opera Company was closed in ...

, and vocal a cappella group The Song Company, of which he was artistic director between 1990 and 2015. Peelman is known to be a strong advocate for new Australian music, and in 2015 was appointed artistic director of the

Canberra International Music Festival The Canberra International Music Festival is a music festival based in Canberra, Australia. It was founded by Ursula Callus (1939–2001), former President of Pro Musica Incorporated. The first Festival was originally called the Canberra Int ...

. Peelman was appointed an honorary

Member of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honours and awards system, Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarch ...

in the

2020 Australia Day Honours The 2020 Australia Day Honours are appointments to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by Australian citizens. The list was announced on 26 January 2020 by the Governor General of Australia, David Hurley. The Australi ...

for "significant service to music."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Peelman, Roland APRA Award winners Australian conductors (music) Belgian emigrants to Australia Ghent University alumni Living people Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century Belgian conductors (music) Honorary members of the Order of Australia