Deborah Cheetham
Deborah Joy Cheetham AO (born 24 November 1964), is an Aboriginal Australian soprano, actor, composer and playwright.
Contents
- 1 Early life and education
- 2 Career
- 3 Awards and Honours
- 3.1 Australian Women in Music Awards
- 3.2 Music Victoria Awards
- 3.3 National Live Music Awards
- 4 References
Early life and education
Cheetham is a member of the Stolen Generations; she was taken from her mother when she was three weeks old and was raised by a white baptist family. Jimmy Little was her uncle.
Cheetham graduated from the NSW Conservatorium of Music with a Bachelor of Music Education Degree.
Career
In 1997 Cheetham wrote the autobiographical play White Baptist Abba Fan which tells of her experiences of coming to terms with her *sexuality and racial iden*y 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 and the 2003 Rugby World Cup.
In October 2010, Cheetham's opera Pecan Summer, based on the 1939 *meragunja walk-off, opened in Mooroopna, Victoria. She wrote, composed and performed in the production by the Short Black Opera Company.
Cheetham has advocated for the lyrics to "Advance Australia Fair" to be rewritten.
In 2018 Cheetham was one of 52 people who contributed to Anita Heiss's book Growing Up Aboriginal In Australia, along with Adam Goodes, Miranda Tapsell and Celeste Liddle.
Cheetham wrote Australia's first requiem based on the frontier wars between first nations people in South Western Victoria and settlers between 1840–1863. The requiem, "Eumeralla, a war requiem for peace" is sung entirely in the Gunditjmara language. The first performance of the requiem on 15 June 2019 will feature Cheetham with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, 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. 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'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 and is performed at every graduation ceremony .
Awards and Honours
In the 2014 Queen's Birthday Honours List, Cheetham was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia (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".
Cheetham was inducted onto the Victorian Honour Roll of Women in 2015.
In April 2018, the University of South Australia awarded Cheetham an Honorary Doctorate (D.Univ.) in recognition of her distinguished service to the community.
In June 2019 she received the Sir Bernard Heinze Memorial Award in recognition of her outstanding service to music.
Australian Women in Music Awards
The Australian Women in Music Awards is an annual event that celebrates outstanding women in the Australian Music Industry who have made significant and lasting contributions in their chosen field. They commenced in 2018.
Music Victoria Awards
The Music Victoria Awards, are an annual awards night celebrating Victorian music. They commenced in 2005.
National Live Music Awards
The National Live Music Awards (NLMAs) are a broad recognition of Australia's diverse live industry, celebrating the success of the Australian live scene. The awards commenced in 2016.