Norma Tyer facts for kids

Norma Phyllis Tyer (born on April 23, 1928) was an Australian composer. A composer is someone who writes music. She created many different kinds of music, including pieces for orchestras, choirs (groups of singers), electronic instruments, and small groups of instruments (called chamber music).

Norma Tyer's Musical Journey

Norma Tyer was born in Sydney, Australia. She loved music and studied it at the University of Sydney. In 1960, she was one of the first two students to earn a special music degree there. The other student was Ann Carr-Boyd.

After her studies, Norma worked as an editor for a music magazine called Music Now for four years. She also taught music to students in public schools and at the University of Sydney.

In 1971, Norma received two important scholarships. These scholarships helped her travel and study music in Europe for 15 months. She learned from many famous composers like Vinko Globokar, Mauricio Kagel, Gyorgy Ligeti, Karlheinz Stockhausen, and Iannis Xenakis. She also attended a special summer music school in England called the Dartington International Summer School. There, she studied with composers like Harrison Birtwistle and Morton Feldman. She also got to work in an electronics studio, which is a place to create music using electronic sounds.

Later, Norma earned another advanced degree from University College in Cardiff, Wales. For this degree, she studied how contemporary (modern) music is put together. She also worked in an electronics studio there and learned about psycho-acoustics. This is the study of how people hear and understand sounds. Her main project for this degree was about the "Church Parables" of another famous composer, Benjamin Britten.

In 1974, Norma Tyer became a teacher at the Newcastle Conservatorium of Music. This school was part of the New South Wales State Conservatorium of Music. She continued teaching there for many years, at least until 1985.

What Music Did Norma Tyer Write?

Norma Tyer wrote many musical pieces. Here are some of them:

Chamber Music

Chamber music is written for a small group of instruments, often played in a smaller room or "chamber."

• String Quartet (a piece for four string instruments, usually two violins, a viola, and a cello)

Orchestra Music

Orchestra music is written for a large group of musicians playing many different instruments together.

• Fantasia on a Theme of Bach
• Franz Josef: Impressions of a Glacier

Vocal Music

Vocal music is written for singers, sometimes with instruments and sometimes without.

• Canticle of the Rose (for a chorus, which is a group of singers, and a piano)
• Fragments from the Coventry Corpus Christi Pageants (for an a cappella chorus, meaning singers without any instruments)
• Kyrie Eleison (for a chorus and an orchestra)
• Missa Brevis (for an a cappella chorus)
• New Sunrise (for a chorus and a piano)
• Spring (for an a cappella chorus)