Dorothy Quita Buchanan ONZM (born 28 September 1945) is a New Zealand composer and teacher.
Buchanan was born in Christchurch on 28 September 1945,[1] the second of six daughters in a musical family, and was educated at St Mary's College.
[2] After completing her education, Buchanan worked as a pianist, composer, music teacher and violinist with the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra.
[1][5] In 1995 Buchanan was awarded the Philip Neill Memorial Prize by the University of Otago for Fragments and Letters.
[6] Buchanan composes for school choirs, string quartets, dance and theatre companies and symphony orchestras, operas, incidental music and film and television scores.