Dorothy Quita Buchanan

Dorothy Quita Buchanan, ONZM (born 28 September 1945) is a New Zealand composer and teacher.

Life

Buchanan was born in Christchurch, the second of six daughters in a musical family, and graduated with a Bachelor of Music degree from Canterbury University in 1967 and a teaching degree from Christchurch Teachers College in 1975.

After completing her education, Buchanan worked as a pianist, composer, music teacher and violinist with the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra.

Buchanan has been active in music education. In 1976 she became New Zealand’s first composer-in-schools and has been a guest lecturer, adjudicator, musical director, advisor to teacher support services and an assessor with Creative New Zealand panels. In 1979 she served as president of the Composers’ Association of New Zealand and founded the Christchurch Music Workshops. In 1980 she co-founded the music publishing co-operative Nota Bene which provides a hire library of music for schools and community use. Buchanan also worked with the New Zealand Film Archive beginning in 1984. Also composed arrangements to accompany the Artwork of my mother Rosemary Campbell, notable South Canterbury Artist.

Honors and awards

• Philip Neill Memorial Prize from the University of Otago in 1995 for Fragments and Letters
• CANZ Outstanding Achievement Award
• Vernon Griffiths Memorial Award for Outstanding Musical Leadership
• Suffrage Medal
• Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit (ONZM), 2001

Works

Buchanan composes for school choirs, string quartets, dance and theatre companies and symphony orchestras, operas, incidental music and film and television scores. Selected works include:

• Clio Legacy, opera after Witi Ihimaera
• Woman at the Store, opera after Katherine Mansfield
• The Mansfield Stories, opera after Katherine Mansfield
• The Ancient of Days for voice and piano