Roland Foster

Roland Foster (born July 12, 1879 in Dundalk , † November 1, 1966 in Sydney ) was an Australian singer and music teacher.

Foster initially worked as an executive employee of a wholesale merchant in northern England. He then began a vocal training with Eugène Goosens , which he continued with Frederick Austin . He won a scholarship to the Hampstead Conservatoire of Music in 1902 and eventually studied at the Guildhall School of Music from 1904 to 1907 . For health reasons, he then switched to teaching and music management.

In 1912 he accompanied Clara Butt and Kennerley Rumford as secretary and manager on a world tour. In 1913 they arrived in Sydney, Australia, where Foster, on Clara Butt's advice, took up singing teaching. In 1916 Henri Verbrugghen brought him to the State Conservatorium of Music as a singing teacher , where he taught until 1962. His numerous students included Rosa Alba , Essie Ackland , Raymond Beatty, and Geoffrey Chard .

In addition, from 1925, Foster also acted as a juror at singing competitions in Australia and New Zealand. In 1934 he took over the management of the Conservatory's Opera School and began producing radio operas. He was also President of the Music Week Movement from 1932 to 1936 , Director of the City of Sydney Eisteddfod from 1933 to 1936, and President of the Sydney Royal Philharmonic Society from 1950 to 1963 .

On trips to Europe, Foster became a member of the Society of English Singers in 1919 and a Fellow of the Guildhall School of Music in 1927, and was awarded the Order of the British Empire in 1954 . He wrote two popular textbooks ( Vocal Success , 1934; Competitive Singing , 1941) and published an autobiography in 1949 under the title Come Listen to My Song .

Web links

• Australian Dictionary of Biography - Foster, Roland