Beryl Kimber
{{Short description|Australian violinist and educator (1928–2022)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2022}}{{Use Australian English|date=December 2022}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Beryl Kimber
| honorific_suffix = {{Post-nominals|country=AUS|OBE|size=100}}
| image = Beryl Kimber.jpg
| caption = Beryl Kimber in 1946
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1928|06|03|df=y}}
| birth_place = Perth, Western Australia
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2022|11|25|1928|06|03|df=y}}
| death_place = Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| occupation = Violinist, violin teacher
| employer = Elder Conservatorium of Music
}}
Beryl Kimber {{Post-nominals|country=AUS|OBE}} (3 June 1928 – 25 November 2022) was an Australian violinist. In addition to her performing career, she taught violin at the Elder Conservatorium of Music for 34 years.
Career
Kimber was born in Perth, Western Australia but grew up in Hobart, Tasmania. She studied piano with Miss S. Honey{{cite news |date=27 November 1937 |title=Music Exams |volume=XCVI |page=8 (Late News Edition and Daily) |newspaper=The Examiner (Tasmania) |issue=223 |location=Tasmania, Australia |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article52171843 |accessdate=24 December 2022 |via=National Library of Australia}} and in 1942 was awarded an AMusA by the Australian Music Examinations Board at age 14.{{cite news |date=26 November 1942 |title=Promising Violinist |volume=CLVI |page=15 |newspaper=The Mercury |issue=22,462 |location=Tasmania, Australia |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article25942621 |accessdate=24 December 2022 |via=National Library of Australia}} She moved to Melbourne to study with Jeanne Gautier, a French violinist.{{cite news |date=30 August 1944 |title=Violinist Returns |volume=60 |page=3 |newspaper=The West Australian |issue=18,140 |location=Western Australia |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article44821204 |accessdate=24 December 2022 |via=National Library of Australia}} In 1944, she was a finalist in the Conservatorium's concerto festival and performed the third movement of Max Bruch's Violin Concerto in G minor with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Bernard Heinze.{{cite news |date=28 September 1944 |title=Eight Soloists At Concerto Festival |page=8 |newspaper=The Argus (Melbourne) |issue=30,604 |location=Victoria, Australia |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article11363016 |accessdate=25 December 2022 |via=National Library of Australia}} She later moved to Sydney where she was a pupil of Jascha Gopinko.{{Cite web |last=Watkins |first=Stephen |date=2022-12-19 |title=A 'rock star' violinist during classical music's halcyon days |url=https://www.smh.com.au/national/a-rock-star-violinist-during-classical-music-s-halcyon-days-20221219-p5c7cx.html |access-date=2022-12-24 |website=The Sydney Morning Herald |language=en}} In 1946, she won a British Council Scholarship at the ABC Young Performers Awards,{{Cite web |title=YPA Winners & Finalists |url=https://youngperformersawards.org/winners-finalists/ |access-date=2022-12-24 |website=ABC Young Performers Awards}} which led to her studying at the Royal Academy of Music. From there, she won a full scholarship to continue her studies in Paris with Georges Enesco, a Romanian violinist.
Kimber debuted at Wigmore Hall in 1950 and in following years performed under conductors including Adrian Boult, Malcolm Sargent and John Barbirolli in England and Kirill Kondrashin in the Soviet Union.{{Cite web |last=Watkins |first=Stephen |date=2022-11-29 |title=Vale Beryl Kimber Leske |url=https://www.abc.net.au/classic/read-and-watch/news/vale-beryl-kimber-leske/101713362 |access-date=2022-12-24 |website=ABC Classic |language=en-AU}} In Moscow in 1958, she won a Diploma of First Distinction at the inaugural International Tchaikovsky Competition, following which she studied for a year with Soviet violinist David Oistrakh.
Kimber returned to Australia and joined the Elder Conservatorium of Music in 1964 as a lecturer, rising to associate professor prior to her retirement in 1998.{{Cite web |title=Remembering Beryl Kimber OBE |url=https://www.adelaide.edu.au/staff/news/news/list/2022/12/07/remembering-beryl-kimber-obe |access-date=2022-12-24 |website=University of Adelaide |language=en}} Her students included Adele Anthony, Luke Dollman and Niki Vasilakis.
Awards and recognition
In the 1980 New Year Honours, Kimber was appointed an Officer of the British Empire (OBE) for service to music.{{Cite web |date=28 December 1979 |title=Supplement to The London Gazette, 31st December 1979 |url=https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/48042/page/20 |access-date=2022-12-24 |website=The London Gazette |pages=20}} She was presented with the Sir Bernard Heinze Memorial Award in 1990.{{Cite web |title=Hall of Fame: Sir Bernard Heinze AC 1894–1982 |url=https://liveperformance.com.au/hof-profile/bernard-heinze-ac-1894-1982/ |access-date=2022-12-24 |website=Live Performance Australia}}
Personal
In 1969, Kimber married pianist Clemens Theodor Leske (1923–2019).{{Cite web |date=2019-07-13 |title=Clemens Theodor LESKE AM Death Notice |url=https://tributes.smh.com.au/obituaries/8625/clemens-theodor-leske-am/ |access-date=2022-12-24 |website=Sydney Morning Herald}}
Kimber died on 25 November 2022, at the age of 94. Their son, Clemens Leske, is a concert pianist and academic.
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Sir Bernard Heinze Memorial Award|state=collapsed}}
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Category:Australian Officers of the Order of the British Empire
Category:Musicians from Perth, Western Australia
Category:Australian women classical violinists