Nigel Butterley AM (1935-2022) was one of the foremost Australian composers and pianists of his generation. Born in Sydney, Butterley studied with key pianists and composers including Shadforth Hooper, Frank Warbrick (for piano) and Noel Nickson, Raymond Hanson and Priaulx Rainier (for composition). He composed works for solo piano and violin and for string quartets, along with chamber and choral music, opera and several major orchestral compositions. In 1963, having spent a period of time in London, he composed Laudes, a piece which established his importance as a composer. His radiophonic choral work In the Head the Fire (1966) was awarded the Italia Prize and in 1985 Butterley was awarded the Don Banks Music Award. Poetry was a leading influence for the composer and he wrote works in response to poetry by William Blake, Walt Whitman, Emily Dickinson, Du Fu and Kathleen Raine. A number of his pieces have also been accompanied by poetry when performed. He was a member of the music staff at the ABC for a number of years before commencing as a lecturer in contemporary music at the Newcastle Conservatorium in 1973. After the Conservatorium became part of the University of Newcastle he was a senior lecturer until his retirement in 1991. He then taught composition at the Sydney Conservatorium and to HSC students. In 2004, supported by an Ian Potter Music Commission and the Albert H Maggs Award, Butterley composed two works to mark his 70th birthday. The Sydney Chamber Choir commissioned him to compose Beni Avshalom in 2007.
