Bernard Heinze

Sir Bernard Thomas Heinze, AC, FRCM (1 July 1894 – 10 June 1982) was an Australian conductor, academic, and Director of the New South Wales State Conservatorium of Music.

Through teaching and performance, not least via broadcasting, he played a central role in his country's artistic activities.

Educated at St Patrick's Catholic College, Ballarat, Heinze received violin lessons at an early age, under the guidance of Walter Gude (1904–12) first in Ballarat, and later at the University of Melbourne under Franklin Peterson, before being awarded the (Sir William) Clarke Scholarship at the Royal College of Music in London (1913).

World War I interrupted Heinze's studies and his career was put on hold; he received a commission in May 1916 with the British Royal Garrison Artillery Special Reserve Regiment and fought at Arras, Ypres, the Somme and Passchendaele.

His last appointment of significance was as director of the New South Wales State Conservatorium of Music (1956–66) succeeding Sir Eugene Goossens, who had resigned in scandal.

After leaving the directorship in 1966, Heinze continued to conduct the main Australian orchestras on a regular basis until the late 1970s.

[2] He died on 10 June 1982, aged 87, in Bellevue Hill, Sydney, survived by his wife Valerie née Hennessy.