Peter Sculthorpe began writing music at age seven and at the age of 13 decided to make a career of music. He studied at the Melbourne Conservatorium from 1946 to 1950, then returned to Tasmania. Unable to make any money as a composer, he went into business, running a hunting, shooting and fishing store in Launceston. He later won a scholarship to study at Oxford University, studying under Egon Wellesz, but left before completing his doctorate when his father fell gravely ill.
In 1956 Sculthorpe collaborated with Anne Godfrey-Smith (lyrics) and Ric Throssell (text) on the musical farce Ulterior Motifs (1958), and the following year was invited to contribute original music to one of Phillip Street revues, Cross Section. In 1963 Sculthorpe started lecturing at the University of Sydney, and where he continued to teach until retiring. He now holds the position of emeritus professor.
During the mid-1960s Sculthorpe spent some time at Yale University (USA) as composer-in-residence. One of his compositions from this period, Sun Music I was written especially for the Sydney Symphony Orchestra's first overseas tour, and three years later it and several other compositions in the Sun Music series were used for the ballet of the same name. Choreographed by Sir Robert Helpmann, both the ballet and the music gained international attention.
Sculthorpe's interest in theatre and music saw him work with Patrick White in the late 1960s on an opera about Eliza Fraser, but White chose to terminate the artistic relationship. The composer subsequently wrote the opera Rites of Passage (1973) to his own libretto, using texts in Latin and the Australian indigenous language Arrernte. Another of his operas, Quiros, was produced in 1982.
