Deborah Cheetham Fraillon

Deborah Joy Cheetham was born in 1964 in Nowra, New South Wales.{{Cite web |title=Sculptures of three renowned female musicians on display |url=https://www.library.sydney.edu.au/stories/sculptures-of-three-renowned-female-musicians-on-display |access-date=2024-06-18 |website=www.library.sydney.edu.au}} She is a member of the Stolen Generations, being taken from her mother when she was three weeks old{{cite news |title=Where did all the children go? |url=http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/theatre-dance/features/where-did-all-the-children-go-715666.html |access-date=2024-11-26 |work=The Independent |date=2000-07-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110509013857/http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/theatre-dance/features/where-did-all-the-children-go-715666.html |archive-date=2011-05-09}} and was raised by a white Baptist family. The musician Jimmy Little was her uncle.

She attended Penshurst Girls High School (now Georges River College (Penshurst Girls Campus).{{cite news |first=Rosanna |last=Ryan |title=The year that made me: Deborah Cheetham recalls her first night at the opera |url=https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/sundayextra/deborah-cheetham-the-year-that-made-me/6517704 |work=Radio National |date=2015-06-04 |access-date=2023-05-22 }}{{cite web |url=https://penshurstg-h.schools.nsw.gov.au/news/2015/3/from-the-principal5.html |title=From the Principal |date=2015-03-31 |accessdate=2023-05-22 |quote= |publisher= }}

Cheetham graduated from the NSW Conservatorium of Music with a Bachelor of Music Education Degree.[http://www.abc.net.au/sundaynights/stories/s509133.htm "Deborah Cheetham"], Sunday Nights With John Cleary, 3 February 2001, Radio National

In 1997, Cheetham wrote the autobiographical play, White Baptist Abba Fan, which tells of her experiences of coming to terms with her homosexuality and racial identity while trying to reunite with her Aboriginal family.{{cite news |last1=Billington |first1=Michael |title=The sins of the fathers |url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2000/mar/22/artsfeatures2 |access-date=2024-11-26 |work=The Guardian |date=2000-03-22}} White Baptist Abba Fan has toured internationally.{{cite web |title=White Baptist Abba Fan |url=http://www.abc.net.au/arts/headspace/rn/artstalk/cheetham/default.htm |publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation |access-date=2024-11-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010217195328/http://www.abc.net.au/arts/headspace/rn/artstalk/cheetham/default.htm |archive-date=2001-02-17}}

As a soprano, Cheetham has performed in France, Germany, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and New Zealand.[http://www.australiacouncil.gov.au/the_arts/artists_and_orgs/artists/deborah_cheetham2 Deborah Cheetham] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091003010532/http://www.australiacouncil.gov.au/the_arts/artists_and_orgs/artists/deborah_cheetham2 |date=3 October 2009 }}, Australia Council for the Arts She sang at the opening ceremonies of the 2000 Summer Olympics and the 2003 Rugby World Cup.[http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/09/13/1063341814626.html "Singing for the world"] by Frank Walker, The Age, 14 September 2003[http://www.crikey.com.au/2009/08/13/the-silent-shame-of-sheppartons-black-underbelly/ "Shepparton pulls together to face up to indigenous disadvantage"] by Peter Jackson, Crikey, 13 August 2009

In October 2010, Cheetham's opera Pecan Summer, based on the 1939 Cummeragunja walk-off, opened in Mooroopna, Victoria. She wrote, composed, and performed in the production by the Short Black Opera Company.[http://www.riverlinksvenues.com.au/pecansummer.html Pecan Summer] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706111415/http://www.riverlinksvenues.com.au/pecansummer.html |date=6 July 2011 }} at Riverlinks{{Cite book|title=Opera Indigene: Re/presenting First Nations and Indigenous Cultures|last=Karantonis|first=Pamela|publisher=Ashgate|year=2011|isbn=9780754669890|location=Surrey, England|pages=325}} This was first opera written by an Indigenous Australian and involving an all-Indigenous cast.[https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/stolen-generation-singer-debuts-landmark-aboriginal-opera-2031467.html "'Stolen Generation' singer debuts landmark Aboriginal opera"] (AFP) The Independent, 21 July 2010

In 2018, Cheetham was one of 52 people who contributed to Anita Heiss's book Growing Up Aboriginal In Australia, along with Adam Goodes, Miranda Tapsell, and Celeste Liddle.{{Cite book |title=Growing up Aboriginal in Australia |date=2018 |publisher=Black Inc |isbn=978-1-86395-981-0 |editor-last=Heiss |editor-first=Anita |location=Carlton, VIC, Australia}}

Cheetham wrote Australia's first requiem based on the frontier wars between First Nations people in south-western Victoria and settlers between 1840 and 1863.{{cite web |title=Eumeralla, a war requiem for peace |url=https://nit.com.au/eumeralla-a-war-requiem-for-peace/ |website=National Indigenous Times |access-date=8 May 2019}} The requiem, "Eumeralla, a war requiem for peace" is sung entirely in the Gunditjmara language. The first performance of the requiem on 15 June 2019 featured Cheetham with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, the MSO Chorus and the Dhungala Children's Choir.

In 2021, Cheetham's work The Rivers Sing (created with artists Byron J Scullin and Thomas Supple) was presented as part of the RISING: festival in Melbourne. It was presented again as part of RISING: 2024.https://2024.rising.melbourne/program/the-rivers-sing-2024, Retrieved 2024-06-15.

Cheetham's second opera, Parrwang Lifts the Sky, premiered during Victorian Opera's 2021 season and was sung in the Wadawurrung language.{{Cite web|last=Miller|first=Nick|date=2020-10-05|title=A magpie's song that lifted the darkness: new opera tells potent tale|url=https://www.smh.com.au/culture/opera/a-magpie-s-song-that-lifted-the-darkness-new-opera-tells-potent-tale-20201005-p5623s.html|access-date=2020-10-05|website=The Sydney Morning Herald|language=en}}

Her work Ancient Land Processional, performed in three Indigenous languages, was commissioned by the University of South Australia and is performed at every graduation ceremony.{{Cite web |title=Ancient Land Processional |url=http://i.unisa.edu.au/campus-central/Graduations/Your-Graduation-Day/ancient-land-processional/ |access-date=2022-03-21 |website=Intranet |language=en}}{{Cite web |date=2019-04-26 |title=Deobrah Cheetham - OA, composer, singer and Abba fan |url=https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/musicshow/the-music-show-sunday-28th-april/11028482 |access-date=2022-03-21 |website=ABC Radio National |language=en-AU}}

In 2022, a new short work, Ghost Light, was performed as part of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra's "50 Fanfares" project.{{Cite web |title=Deborah Cheetham AO |url=https://www.sydneysymphony.com/about-us/50-fanfares/deborah-cheetham-ao |access-date=2024-06-07 |website=Sydney Symphony Orchestra |language=en}}

In November 2019, Cheetham was appointed Professor of Practice at the Sir Zelman Cowen School of Music at Monash University. She is also the 2020 Composer in Residence at the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra.{{Cite web|url=https://www.monash.edu/arts/news-and-events/articles/Deborah-Cheetham-named-Professor-of-Practice-at-Monash-Music|title=Australian opera legend Deborah Cheetham AO named Professor of Practice at Sir Zelman Cowen School of Music|date=15 November 2019|website=Monash Arts|access-date=2019-11-18}}

Cheetham was appointed to the Sydney Conservatorium of Music in February 2023 as inaugural Elizabeth Todd Chair of Vocal Studies.{{Cite web |title=Deborah Cheetham Fraillon joins Sydney Conservatorium of Music |url=https://www.sydney.edu.au/news-opinion/news/2023/02/21/deborah-cheetham-fraillon-joins-sydney-conservatorium-of-music-.html |access-date=2023-02-20 |website=The University of Sydney |language=en-AU}}{{Cite web |last=Galvin |first=Nick |date=2023-02-20 |title='Making us jump': Singer Deborah Cheetham Fraillon joins the Con |url=https://www.smh.com.au/culture/music/making-them-jump-singer-deborah-cheetham-fraillon-joins-the-con-20230220-p5clwb.html |access-date=2023-02-20 |website=The Sydney Morning Herald |language=en}}

In May 2018 Cheetham also became patron of the Girls' Voices of the Cathedral choir (St Paul's Anglican cathedral Melbourne).{{Cite web |date=2018-07-12 |title=Our Girls' Voices Patron |website= St Paul's Cathedral Melbourne |url=https://cathedral.org.au/worship/music/our-girls-voices-patron/ |access-date=2024-03-28 }}

Cheetham has advocated for the lyrics to "Advance Australia Fair" to be rewritten.{{cite web |last1=Cheetham |first1=Deborah |title=Young and free? Why I declined to sing the national anthem at the 2015 AFL Grand Final |url=https://theconversation.com/young-and-free-why-i-declined-to-sing-the-national-anthem-at-the-2015-afl-grand-final-49234 |website=The Conversation |date=19 October 2015 |access-date=8 May 2019 }}

Cheetham leads the national First Nations opera company Short Black Opera, based in Melbourne. It provides "training and performance opportunities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander singers, composers, conductors, and instrumentalists", including running workshops for schoolchildren. The Short Black Opera for KIDS program was formed in 2009 in order to create a children's chorus to perform in Pecan Summer, which became known as the Dhungala Children's Choir and continues to operate.{{cite web | title=Content | website=Short Black Opera | date=23 February 2019 | url=https://shortblackopera.org.au/content | access-date=28 August 2024}}

Cheetham is openly lesbian. In 2022 it was announced that she was dating the conductor Nicolette Fraillon,{{Cite web|url=https://australianballet.com.au/blog/nicolette-reflects|title=Nicolette reflects | The Australian Ballet}} and she is now known as Deborah Cheetham Fraillon, after the pair married on 2 January 2023 at their home in the Sydney suburb of Church Point.{{Cite web |last=Fraillon |first=Deborah |date=10 January 2023 |title=Deborah Fraillon - Facebook |url=https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=6384152224946427&set=a.506963929331982 |access-date=7 March 2023 |website=Facebook}} Previously, she had been in a long-term relationship with Toni Lalich, with whom she also enjoyed a lengthy artistic partnership.

In the 2014 Queen's Birthday Honours List, Cheetham was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO), for "distinguished service to the performing arts as an opera singer, composer and artistic director, to the development of Indigenous artists, and to innovation in performance".{{cite web|url=http://gg.gov.au/sites/default/files/files/honours/qb/qb2014/Gazette%201%20Order%20of%20Australia.pdf|title=The Queen's Birthday 2014 Honours List|date=8 June 2014|access-date=8 June 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140630031234/http://www.gg.gov.au/sites/default/files/files/honours/qb/qb2014/Gazette%201%20Order%20of%20Australia.pdf|archive-date=30 June 2014|url-status=dead}}

In April 2018, the University of South Australia awarded Cheetham an Honorary Doctorate (D.Univ.) in recognition of her distinguished service to the community.{{Cite web |title=UniSA awards opera singer, composer and arts leader, Deborah Cheetham an Honorary Doctorate |url=https://unisa.edu.au/media-centre/Releases/2018/UniSA-awards-opera-singer-composer-and-arts-leader-Deborah-Cheetham-an-Honorary-Doctorate/ |access-date=2022-03-21 |website=Home |language=en}}

The Australian Women in Music Awards is an annual event that celebrates outstanding women in the Australian Music Industry who have made significant and lasting contributions in their chosen field. They commenced in 2018.

{{awards table}}

|-

| 2018{{cite web |url=https://womeninmusicawards.com.au/2018-recipients-finalists/|title=2018 Recipients Finalists|website=women in Music Awards|date=October 2018|access-date=19 March 2021}}

| Deborah Cheetham

| Auriel Andrew Memorial Award

| {{won}}

|-

| 2021{{cite web|url=https://scenestr.com.au/music/2022-australian-women-in-music-awards-winners-20220519|title=2022 Australian Women In Music Awards Winners|website=Scenestr|date=19 May 2022|access-date=21 June 2022}}

| Deborah Cheetham

| Lifetime Achievement Award

| {{yes2|awarded}}

{{end}}

The Sir Bernard Heinze Memorial Award is given to a person who has made an outstanding contribution to music in Australia.

{{awards table}}

|-

| 2019{{Cite web|url=https://about.unimelb.edu.au/newsroom/news/2019/june/deborah-cheetham-ao-honoured-with-prestigious-music-award|title=Deborah Cheetham AO honoured with prestigious award|date=2019-06-07|website=The University of Melbourne|access-date=2019-06-09}} || Deborah Cheetham || Sir Bernard Heinze Memorial Award || {{yes2|awarded}}

|-

{{end}}

The Helpmann Awards is an awards show, celebrating live entertainment and performing arts in Australia, presented by industry group Live Performance Australia (LPA) since 2001.{{cite web | title=Events & Programs| website=Live Performance Australia | url=https://liveperformance.com.au/events-programs/ | access-date=17 August 2022}} In 2020, Cheetham received the JC Williamson Award, the LPA's highest honour, for their life's work in live performance.Yanko, Suzanne. "Tognetti’s Award triumph." Classic Melbourne. Edited by Suzanne Yanko. Published online 31 May 2017.

[https://www.classicmelbourne.com.au/tognettis-award-triumph/] Accessed 5 September 2019.

{{awards table}}

|-

| 2020 || Deborah Cheetham || JC Williamson Award || {{yes2|awarded}}

|-

{{end}}

The Music Victoria Awards, are an annual awards night celebrating Victorian music. They commenced in 2005.

{{awards table}}

! {{Abbr|Ref.|Reference}}

|-

| 2021

| Deborah Cheetham (with Byron Scullin and Tom Supple)

| Best Experimental Act or Avant-Garde Act

| {{nom}}

|{{cite web|url=https://www.noise11.com/news/music-victoria-awards-reveals-line-up-and-nominees-for-2021-20211111|title=Music Victoria Awards Reveals Line-up And Nominees for 2021|website=Noise11|date=11 November 2021|access-date=12 November 2021}}{{cite web|url=https://scenestr.com.au/music/music-victoria-awards-2021-winners-20211209|title=Music Victoria Awards 2021 Winners|website=scenestr.com.au|date=9 December 2021|access-date=9 December 2021}}

|-

{{end}}

The National Live Music Awards (NLMAs) are a broad recognition of Australia's diverse live industry, celebrating the success of the Australian live scene. The awards commenced in 2016.

{{awards table}}

|-

| National Live Music Awards of 2019{{cite web|url=https://www.nlmas.com.au/2019/10/22/here-are-your-2019-national-live-music-awards-nominees/|title=HERE ARE YOUR 2019 NATIONAL LIVE MUSIC AWARDS NOMINEES!|website=NLMA|date=22 October 2020|access-date=5 September 2020}}{{cite web|url=https://www.nlmas.com.au/2019/12/05/and-the-winners-of-the-2019-national-live-music-awards-are/|title=AND THE WINNERS OF THE 2019 NATIONAL LIVE MUSIC AWARDS ARE…

|website=NLMA|date=5 December 2020|access-date=5 September 2020}}

| Deborah Cheetham

| Live Classical Act of the Year

| {{won}}

|-

{{end}}

The Victorian Honour Roll of Women was established in 2001 to recognise the achievements of women from the Australian state of Victoria.

{{awards table}}

|-

| 2015{{Cite web|url=https://herplacemuseum.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/2018-Victorian-Honour-Roll-of-Women-booklet.pdf|title=Victorian Honour Roll of Women 2018}} || Deborah Cheetham || Victorian Honour Roll of Women || {{yes2|awarded}}

|-

{{end}}

In 2023 Deborah Cheetham Fraillon was awarded the Don Banks Music Award in the inaugural Creative Australia Awards, taking the place of the Australia Council Awards.{{Cite web |title=Inaugural winners of Creative Australia Awards announced |url=https://limelight-arts.com.au/news/inaugural-winners-of-creative-australia-awards-announced/}} The Don Banks Music Award was established in 1984 to publicly honour a senior artist of high distinction who has made an outstanding and sustained contribution to music in Australia.

{{Reflist|30em}}

{{Sir Bernard Heinze Memorial Award}}

{{ABC Classic FM}}{{Portal bar|classical music|opera|biography}}{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cheetham Fraillon, Deborah}}

Category:Living people

Category:People from Nowra

Category:1964 births

Category:Australian operatic sopranos

Category:Indigenous Australian musicians

Category:Australian lesbian musicians

Category:Australian LGBTQ singers

Category:Sydney Conservatorium of Music alumni

Category:Officers of the Order of Australia

Category:Members of the Stolen Generations

Category:Australian musical theatre librettists

Category:Australian opera composers

Category:Australian women classical composers

Category:Australian classical composers

Category:Women opera composers

Category:20th-century Australian LGBTQ people

Category:21st-century Australian LGBTQ people