| Summary |
Shortis speaks of his early childhood in Sydney which led him to become a primary school teacher at Bombaderry, NSW, how he came to start writing songs for children, how he later left the Education Dept. to work as a freelance songwriter and performer, his ten years with the Australian Broadcasting Commission's Education Dept. as a songwriter and scriptwriter, other musical activities included running workshops in remote areas of Western Australia for the Round Earth Company, as well as artistic director for the Outback Children's Spectacular in 1988, composer-in-residence for the Sydney Youth Orchestra, his compositions include orchestral work for the Adelaide Symphony and commissions for various theatre, dance and puppet companies, how he wrote a chamber opera for the Parramatta Riverside Theatre, his exposure to Australian aborigines and how he developed a liking for their music, his release of a compact disc with his childrens' songs performed by Margaret Roadknight, Moya Simpson, Jeannie Lewis and Blair Greenberg, how as a Harold White Fellow he researched the sheet music collection of the National Library of Australia to establish 20th century popular music upon which he based three one hour shows performed as "Sheet Dip" at the 1998 Canberra Festival.
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| Notes |
Preservation and user cassette copies made.
Uncorrected transcript available (typescript, 45 leaves)
Accompanying materials include: summary (1 p.), career overview (1 p.), Canberra Festival, March 1998, "Sheet Dip" programs, and an article from the Canberra Times dated 3 March 1998 and entitled "Reprise for pop songs of the past" (1 p.).
Recorded on March 24, 1998 in Canberra.
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