Mary Mageau


Mary Jane Mageau is an American born writer, harpsichordist and composer who lives and works in Australia. She was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and studied at DePaul University, Chicago, and the University of Michigan where she studied with Leon Stein, Leslie Bassett and Ross Lee Finney, graduating with a Master of Music degree. In 1974 she accepted an Australian guest lectureship and there married architect Kenneth White. She is now an Australian citizen and resident of Queensland. She has been particularly prominent in lobbying for opportunities for women composers.
Australian composer and pianist Larry Sitsky noted when reviewing her works, that Elite Syncopations, from Ragtime for Piano, was "a most attractive piece" and that when playing the work "the boundaries between Mageau and Joplin almost disappeared in my mind, and a rather satisfying whole emerged." Sitsky described her later works as more elegant and refined.
Mageau herself has written of her artistic practice, "Through my music I always seek to communicate something fresh, new and expressive to the performer/s and listening public. Music must communicate - it must say something of meaning that will engage each listener in a satisfying artistic journey".

Honors and awards

Selected works include:
Her music has been recorded and issued on CD, including the Vienna Modern Masters Music From Six Continents CD Series.
Mageau is the author of two spiritual books; Insights : for an awakening humanity and A little book of living spiritually, published by Boolarong Press and poetry published in the United States by Red Moon Press, the MET Press, and in Australian and Canadian literary magazines.