Lady of the Sky was commissioned by the South Australian Public Primary Schools Festival of Music in 2012/13, part of the song cycle ‘Flight’. Written in honour of aviation pioneer Nancy Bird-Walton, it was performed by over 12,000 school children.
Nancy-Bird Walton was a pioneering Australian aviatrix and was the founder and patron of the Australian Women Pilots’ Association. In the 1930s, defying the traditional role of females of her time, she became a fully qualified pilot at the age of 19, and became the youngest Australian woman to gain a pilot’s licence. As a teenager during the Depression in Australia, Nancy Bird found herself in the same position as many other children of the time, leaving school at 13 to assist her family. In 1933, at the age of 18, her passion drove her to take flying lessons. Sir Charles Kingsford Smith who was the first man to fly across the mid-Pacific, had just opened a pilots’ school near Sydney, and she was among his first pupils. Most women learned to fly for recreation, but Nancy planned to fly for a living. At the age of 19 she was awarded a commercial pilot’s license and bought her first aircraft, a de Havilland Gypsy Moth.
Throughout her life Walton was notable for her support of charities and people in need. This generous spirit saw her invested as an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 1966. She was later appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia. She was the starting block for generations of female pilots. She was never involved in an accident, despite the risks of early aviation.
The National Trust declared her an Australian Living Treasure in 1997.
We recommend performing the complete song cycle. Take to the Sky, Icarus, and Jetman are all available form this site in the SA section. Orchestrations are also available.
Sample recording courtesy of the South Australian Public Primary Schools Festival of Music
