Colin Harper (conductor)

Colin Harper AM MBE (c. 1933 – 2004) was a Scottish Australian conductor and the founder of the Queensland Pops Orchestra.[1]

Colin Harper
Bornc. 1933
Fort George, Scotland
OriginAustralia
Died2004

Harper was born in Fort George in Scotland. He joined the Army when he was 14 and later became the bandmaster of Gordon Highlander regiment. He moved to Australia in 1972 and became the music director of the Fifth Military District band in Perth. 1981 saw him move to Brisbane where in 1984 he founded the Queensland Pops Orchestra who put on series of The Best of British and Scotland the Brave concerts. Harper died in January 2004 from cancer.[2][3]

The 2000 ABC Classics album release of highlights of one of his Scotland the Brave concerts was nominated for the 2001 ARIA Award for Best Cast or Show Album.[4]

Awards and nominations edit

ARIA Music Awards edit

The ARIA Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony held by the Australian Recording Industry Association. They commenced in 1987.

Year Nominee / work Award Result Ref.
2001 Scotland the Brave Best Original Cast or Show Album Nominated [5]

References edit

  1. ^ Patrick, Christopher (27 July 2015), "Queensland Pops Orchestra: the early days", Sunshine Coast Daily
  2. ^ "Harping about Harper", The Courier-Mail, 25 July 1998
  3. ^ Aldred, Debra (24 January 2004), "Music maestro please, and don't forget the spectacle", The Courier-Mail
  4. ^ "List of nominations for the 2001 ARIA Awards", Australian Associated Press, 13 September 2001
  5. ^ ARIA Award previous winners. "History Best Original Soundtrack, Cast or Show Album". Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). Retrieved 12 July 2022.