Isaac Nathan

Isaac Nathan (1792 – 15 January 1864) was an Anglo-Jewish emigre Australian musician, composer, musicologist, and music educator, who has been called the "father of Australian music", having assisted the careers of numerous colonial musicians during his twenty-year residence in Australia. He is best known for the success of his Hebrew Melodies (1815–1840) in London. However, he made significant contributions as a singing teacher and music historian and as a composer of opera in the Royal Theatres (1823–1833). After emigrating to Australia in 1840, Nathan wrote Australia's first operas and Australia's first contemporary song cycle which entangled fragments of Aboriginal songlines with European musical traditions.