Betty Beath

Elizabeth Margaret Beath, née Eardley, (born 19 November 1932) is an Australian composer, pianist, and music educator. Life and career Betty Beath was born in Bundaberg, Queensland, and began piano lessons at the age of three. She was twice a finalist in the ABC Concerto competition when in her teens. In 1950, she was awarded a University of Queensland Music Scholarship, After completing her education, Beath settled in Brisbane and took positions as an accompanist and later teacher at Queensland Conservatorium and was Head of Music at St. Margaret’s Girls’ School, Brisbane. She is an Examiner with the Australian Music Examinations Board. Beath received a Southeast Asian Fellowship from the Australia Council in 1974 to conduct research in Bali and Java. She is married to author/illustrator, David Cox. She represented women composers of Australia at the 3rd International Congress on Women in Music, held in Mexico City in 1984. She has also been an executive member of the International League of Women Composers. Her most performed music is perhaps the piano solo piece “Merindu Bali” (Bali Yearning), written for the Indonesian pianist Ananda Sukarlan and dedicated to the memory of the