Alan Bellhouse

AM
Born
Alan Robert Bellhouse

(1914-06-28)28 June 1914
Stanmore, New South Wales
Died31 December 1980(1980-12-31) (aged 66)
Northbridge, New South Wales
NationalityAustralian
EducationFort Street High School
University of Sydney
Sydney Conservatorium of Music.
Occupation(s)Mathematician, teacher, musician, author
Employer(s)Sydney Technical High School
Sydney Grammar School
Newington College
Known forMusic
SpouseDulcie Holland
ChildrenTwo
Parent(s)Florence Chapman (née Pickering) and the Reverend Herbert Edward Bellhouse

Alan Robert Bellhouse AM (28 June 1914 –31 December 1980) was an Australian mathematician, teacher, musician and author of musical textbooks. He founded The North Sydney Symphony Orchestra in 1947.[1][2] The National Library of Australia holds over twenty books published by Bellhouse with many of them entitled “… for beginners”.[3]

Biography

Bellhouse was born in Stanmore, New South Wales the second son of Florence Chapman (née Pickering) and the Reverend Herbert Edward Bellhouse (1879–1961).

His father was a Methodist minister and he attended state schools in Kempsey, Woodford, Mudgee and Hamilton before sitting for the Leaving Certificate at Fort Street High School in Sydney. He was awarded a Bachelor of Arts with Honours in Mathematics at the University of Sydney and a Diploma of Education graduating in 1935 and studied music at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music.

After a year working in the Department of Trade and Customs he joined the Department of Education and taught music at Sydney Technical High School[4] and later mathematics. In 1940 he married the Australian composer Dulcie Holland[5] and they had two children, a daughter Holly and a son Lindsay.[6]

At the beginning of World War II Bellhouse was a maths teacher with the Education Department and so wasn’t allowed to enlist. So he changed jobs and his new employer, Sydney Grammar School, allowed him to serve.

In l942 the RAAF posted him to educational duties in Sydney for two years and he served as an instructor in science, mathematics, meteorology, and aircraft recognition. During this time he wrote his first book entitled What Plane is That?[7] Then he was posted to an active service area 60 miles from Darwin, Northern Territory. He was discharged in January 1946 as Flight Lieutenant Alan Bellhouse.[8]

At war’s end he rejoined the music, and mathematics staff of Sydney Grammar and having played A Grade Tennis before the war became a GPS tennis coach.[9] Then he approached the North Sydney Council for help in forming an orchestra. The mayor was sympathetic to the idea and provided financial assistance from the Council to establish a combined orchestral and choral group. This was to be the first ever orchestra on the north side of Sydney. The newly-formed North Shore Symphony Orchestra and the North Shore Choral Society held their first rehearsal on 14 February 1947 in the hall of St Thomas' Anglican Church, North Sydney. The first concert was given on 20 June 1947. In 1951 and 1952 Bellhouse took up an exchange teaching post in London with his wife and young children.[10] From 1964 until 1973 Bellhouse was the director of music at Newington College in Sydney.[11]

Author

  • Whose plane is that? : the matter of aircraft recognition in Australia explained simply for the layman as well as for the student[12]
  • Musical biographies for beginners and for A.M.E.B. musicianship students[13]
  • Classroom teaching and discipline[14]
  • Ballet music for beginners[15]
  • Opera for beginners[16]
  • The operatic and concert overture for beginners[17]
  • The symphony orchestra for beginners[18]
  • Harmony for beginners[19]
  • Asian music for beginners[20]

Oral history

In an oral history recorded with historian Hazel de Berg Bellhouse speaks about writing books on music, his musical compositions, his setting of words to music, his family background, his studies at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music and the University of Sydney and his Honours degree in mathematics, the beginnings of the North Shore Symphony Orchestra, the type of music the Orchestra performs, and his retirement.[21]

Honours

  • Member of the Order of Australia, 1977[22]
  • Honorary D.Litt. from Macquarie University, 1993

Legacy

  • In 1965 Bellhouse instigated and donated the Reverend H.E. Bellhouse Award for Music in memory of his father who had died in 1961. The prizes are still awarded annually at Newington College.[23]
  • A University of Sydney scholarship titled The Alan Bellhouse Award is presented to an outstanding student with the highest marks in conducting is awarded annually.[24][25]
  • Bellhouse Crescent, Moncrieff, Australian Capital Territory, is named in his honour.[26]

References

  1. ↑ Dr Alan Bellhouse Retrieved 20 January 2023.
  2. ↑ https://www.nsso.org.au/about North Sydney Symphony Orchestra Retrieved 20 January 2023.
  3. ↑ Alan Bellhouse Retrieved 20 January 2023.
  4. ↑ "Brevities". The Methodist. Vol. 49, no. 41. New South Wales, Australia. 12 October 1940. p. 8. Retrieved 20 January 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  5. ↑ "Musicians' romance began at choral festival". The Daily Telegraph. Vol. I, no. 50. New South Wales, Australia. 27 October 1940. p. 17. Retrieved 20 January 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  6. ↑ A new biography charts the life and music of Dulcie Holland Retrieved 20 January 2023.
  7. ↑ Bellhouse, Alan, 1914- (1945), Whose plane is that? : the matter of aircraft recognition in Australia explained simply for the layman as well as for the student / by Alan R. Bellhouse, Whitcombe & Tombs{{citation}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  8. ↑ Darwin, NT. Flight Lieutenant Alan Bellhouse RAAF Retrieved 20 January 2023.
  9. ↑ "ALAN BELLHOUSE, B.A., DIP. ED". Smith's Weekly. Vol. XXIX, no. 39. New South Wales, Australia. 22 November 1947. p. 15. Retrieved 20 January 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  10. ↑ A Musical Missionary Retrieved 20 January 2023.
  11. ↑ Newington College Register of Past Students 1863-1998 (Syd, 1999) Abbreviated Staff List pp 1
  12. ↑ Bellhouse, Alan, 1914-1980 (1944), Whose plane is that? : the matter of aircraft recognition in Australia explained simply for the layman as well as for the student / by Alan R. Bellhouse, Whitcombe & Tombs{{citation}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  13. ↑ Bellhouse, Alan, 1914-1980 (1975), Musical biographies for beginners and for A.M.E.B. musicianship students / [by] Alan Bellhouse, William Brooks & Co{{citation}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  14. ↑ Bellhouse, Alan, 1914-1980 (1964), Classroom teaching and discipline / by A.R. Bellhouse, Wentworth Books{{citation}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  15. ↑ Bellhouse, Alan, 1914-1980 (1975), Ballet music for beginners / [by] Alan Bellhouse, William Brooks & Co{{citation}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  16. ↑ Bellhouse, Alan, 1914-1980 (1968), Opera for beginners, Brooks{{citation}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  17. ↑ Bellhouse, Alan, 1914-1980 (1975), The operatic and concert overture for beginners / by Alan Bellhouse, William Brooks & Co{{citation}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  18. ↑ Bellhouse, Alan, 1914-1980 (1968), The symphony orchestra for beginners, Brooks{{citation}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  19. ↑ Bellhouse, Alan, 1914-1980 (1969), Harmony for beginners / by Alan Bellhouse, William Brooks & Co{{citation}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  20. ↑ Bellhouse, Alan, 1914-1980 (1977), Asian music for beginners / [by] Alan Bellhouse, William Brooks{{citation}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  21. ↑ Bellhouse, Alan, 1914-; De Berg, Hazel, 1913-1984 (1975), Alan Bellhouse interviewed by Hazel de Berg in the Hazel de Berg collection [sound recording]{{citation}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  22. ↑ Bellhouse, Alan Robert, It's an Honour, Government of Australia database of honours. Retrieved 20 January 2023.
  23. ↑ The biggest night of the year Retrieved 20 January 2023.
  24. ↑ Edward McKnight Retrieved 20 January 2023.
  25. ↑ Australia’s Melbourne Symphony Orchestra Announces 2022 Conductor Fellow Retrieved 20 January 2023.
  26. ↑ Public Place Names (Moncrieff) Determination 2015 Retrieved 20 January 2023.
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