Mars McMillan was born in Sydney to parents Barrie McMillan and Prudence Kimpton McMillan. A year later, the family moved to Melbourne where she would live throughout her life. She was educated at St Catherine's School, leaving in 1961.[1] Her obituary notes that while she was still at school, "Mars had become entranced with the sound of the harpsichord she heard on a recording and on leaving school immediately took steps to start building her own instrument.
Careeredit
By the age of 22, after teaching herself the necessary woodwork skills, she had built two instruments, having thrown away two earlier trials."[2] A collaborator of Alastair McAllister, the two worked together under the business name "Harpsichord Makers of Melbourne," later called the "Clifton Hill School."[2] The Clifton Hill School was well known in Australia for the fine craftspeople who were developing "an international reputation for Australian-made early instruments.[3]
Historically, women have been underrepresented in the histories of musical instrument making. Thus, it is noteworthy that she was the only woman included in Wolfgang Zuckermann's 1969 book The Modern Harpsichord: Twentieth-Century Instruments and Their Makers.[4] In addition to making musical instruments, she was an artist who painted some of her instruments' soundboards with Australian flora and fauna. Opera Queensland notes that the "extraordinary output of Mars McMillan fed into the creation of Melbourne’s Festival of Organ and Harpsichord, the only festival in the world for early music repertoire that celebrates the harpsichord."[5]
^"SCOGA Bulletin Autumn 2017 by St Catherine's School". issuu.com. 2017-04-27. p. 11. Retrieved 2023-06-08.
^ abBlore, Ann. "Devoted builder of harpsichords". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
^Holst, Gail (April 1977). "Awake to the Lute". Hemisphere. 21 (4): 26–29 – via Trove.
^Zuckermann, Wolfgang (1969). The Modern Harpsichord;: Twentieth century instruments and their Makers. New York: October House Inc.
^Saunders, Madison (2020-09-09). "H Is For Harpsichord". Opera Queensland. Retrieved 2023-06-08.
^"Mars McMILLAN Death Notice". The Age. 2016-10-14. Retrieved 2023-06-08.
^"Thank you Winsome!". Santa Sabina College. 2017-11-09. Retrieved 2023-06-08.
Further readingedit
Blore, Ann. "A strange madness’: Organ festivals in Australia 1968–1973." Master's Thesis. University of Melbourne, 2011.
April 11, 2024
mars, mcmillan, november, 1944, october, 2016, australian, harpsichord, maker, visual, artist, contents, early, life, education, career, death, legacy, references, further, readingearly, life, education, edit, born, sydney, parents, barrie, mcmillan, prudence,. Mars McMillan November 6 1944 October 11 2016 was an Australian harpsichord maker and visual artist Contents 1 Early life and education 2 Career 3 Death and legacy 4 References 5 Further readingEarly life and education editMars McMillan was born in Sydney to parents Barrie McMillan and Prudence Kimpton McMillan A year later the family moved to Melbourne where she would live throughout her life She was educated at St Catherine s School leaving in 1961 1 Her obituary notes that while she was still at school Mars had become entranced with the sound of the harpsichord she heard on a recording and on leaving school immediately took steps to start building her own instrument Career editBy the age of 22 after teaching herself the necessary woodwork skills she had built two instruments having thrown away two earlier trials 2 A collaborator of Alastair McAllister the two worked together under the business name Harpsichord Makers of Melbourne later called the Clifton Hill School 2 The Clifton Hill School was well known in Australia for the fine craftspeople who were developing an international reputation for Australian made early instruments 3 Historically women have been underrepresented in the histories of musical instrument making Thus it is noteworthy that she was the only woman included in Wolfgang Zuckermann s 1969 book The Modern Harpsichord Twentieth Century Instruments and Their Makers 4 In addition to making musical instruments she was an artist who painted some of her instruments soundboards with Australian flora and fauna Opera Queensland notes that the extraordinary output of Mars McMillan fed into the creation of Melbourne s Festival of Organ and Harpsichord the only festival in the world for early music repertoire that celebrates the harpsichord 5 Death and legacy editMcMillan died on October 11 2016 6 In 2017 Winsome Evans donated a harpsichord made by McMillan to Sancta Sabina College in Sydney 7 References edit SCOGA Bulletin Autumn 2017 by St Catherine s School issuu com 2017 04 27 p 11 Retrieved 2023 06 08 a b Blore Ann Devoted builder of harpsichords The Sydney Morning Herald Retrieved 7 June 2023 Holst Gail April 1977 Awake to the Lute Hemisphere 21 4 26 29 via Trove Zuckermann Wolfgang 1969 The Modern Harpsichord Twentieth century instruments and their Makers New York October House Inc Saunders Madison 2020 09 09 H Is For Harpsichord Opera Queensland Retrieved 2023 06 08 Mars McMILLAN Death Notice The Age 2016 10 14 Retrieved 2023 06 08 Thank you Winsome Santa Sabina College 2017 11 09 Retrieved 2023 06 08 Further reading editBlore Ann A strange madness Organ festivals in Australia 1968 1973 Master s Thesis University of Melbourne 2011 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Mars McMillan amp oldid 1167950418, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
