Conductor, born in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. He studied at the Melbourne Conservatory, and became music director of the Victoria Opera in 1968. In 1977 he went to Europe, conducting a wide range of operatic repertoire in Basel, Nuremberg, and Zürich. In 1980 he returned to Australia to become resident conductor of the Australian Opera, and in 1987 became chief conductor and artistic director of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra. He appeared as guest conductor for various orchestras, including the Chicago Symphony and the English National Opera. In 1991 he publicly announced that he had AIDS, but worked to the end of his life, conducting masterful performances of Strauss's Der Rosenkavalier.