composer

May Howlett was born in Perth, WA, where she took up piano, and became Perth’s answer to Shirley Temple in shows at Her Majesty’s Theatre. When she was 12, the family moved to Victoria, where, upon matriculating, she won a scholarship to the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music. Married, with two children, she returned to a career as performer in recitals and concerts, and as a teacher of voice and piano when the young family moved to Canberra. Here she was able to indulge her passion for theatre. Later, in Sydney, she was able to work professionally, appearing in ABC and commercial television productions, in films, and touring companies with productions as diverse as Opera (for the Arts Council of NSW and ABC TV productions), musicals, and with artists such as Barry Humphries. Now living in Moss Vale, May, having returned to composition at the end of her performance career, has recently written a contemporary chamber opera, and gained an MA in Music. A represented composer with the Australian Music Centre, she writes both instrumental and vocal music, some of which is available on CD, and has a number of works published by Wirripang Publications.

Concerts with Chronology Arts

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