"Delia Ann Derbyshire (5 May 1937 - 3 July 2001) was an English musician and composer of electronic music and musique concréte. She is best known for her electronic realisation of Ron Grainer's theme music to the British science fiction television series Doctor Who and for her work with the BBC Radiophonic Workshop."1.
She began her work as a BBC Trainee Assistant Studio Manager. Delia had interests in both the theory and the perception of sound. Her work on the Doctor Who theme is what she is most known for. Ron Grainer even said "Did I really write this?" to which she replied: "Most of it".
"Derbyshire also worked with the composers Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, Roberton Gergard (on his 1965 Prix Italia winning 'Anger of Achilles'), and Ianni Christou, doing sound treatments of their orchestral music. She was also assistant to Luciano Berio at the 1962 Dartington summer school.
On being told at the workshop that her music was 'too lascivious for 11 year olds' and 'too sophisticated for the BBC2 audience', Delia found other fields where the directors we less inhibited - film, theatre, 'happenings' and original electronic music events, as well as pop music and avant garde psychedelia. To do this she encouraged the establishment of Unit Delta Plus, Kaleidophon and Electrophon, private electronic music studios where she worked with Peter Zinovieff [composer and inventor], Dacis Vorhaus and Brian Hodgson". 2.
"Derbyshire also worked with the composers Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, Roberton Gergard (on his 1965 Prix Italia winning 'Anger of Achilles'), and Ianni Christou, doing sound treatments of their orchestral music. She was also assistant to Luciano Berio at the 1962 Dartington summer school.
On being told at the workshop that her music was 'too lascivious for 11 year olds' and 'too sophisticated for the BBC2 audience', Delia found other fields where the directors we less inhibited - film, theatre, 'happenings' and original electronic music events, as well as pop music and avant garde psychedelia. To do this she encouraged the establishment of Unit Delta Plus, Kaleidophon and Electrophon, private electronic music studios where she worked with Peter Zinovieff [composer and inventor], Dacis Vorhaus and Brian Hodgson". 2.
Delia once applied for a job at Decca Records and was told by the company that they did not employ women in their recording studios. I think that her success in the industry since then has proved them to have made a mistake.
References:
1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delia_Derbyshire
2. http://www.delia-derbyshire.org/
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