Stephan Hale Alonzo Marsh

Stephan Hale Alonzo Marsh (London, 1805 – San Francisco, 1888) was a composer and harpist of British origin whose career unfolded largely in Australia, to which he emigrated as an adult. His significance lies chiefly as a record of musical life in the Australian colonies in the nineteenth century.

Trained by the harpist Bochsa, Marsh began his career as a harp performer in English and continental venues, with the patronage of the Duchess of Kent. In March 1842 he settled in Sydney, where he moved with ease between recital giving, concert organisation, teaching the harp and piano, and dealings with musicians such as Wallace and Nathan.

His first Australian works were ephemeral and patriotic in character, such as the Australian Valse (1843), Hail to Thee, O Mighty One or Advance, Australia (1846), as well as a march dedicated to Leichhardt and published in London. He also composed sacred music, polkas, waltzes and quadrilles. Between 1852 and 1872 he lived in Melbourne, where in 1861 he premiered the three-act opera The Gentleman in Black, the first original production of W. S. Lyster's company. There he devoted himself mainly to teaching and to helping his brother Henry open a branch of the successful music publishing and retail business they ran in Sydney. Following a period in Japan from 1872, he settled in California in 1874, where he died.