Bonnie Boezeman AO DSG
Bonnie Boezeman AO DSG is a passionate philanthropist with an extensive corporate career spanning over 45 years, including 23 years with Time Warner inc., 13 of those as Managing Director and Chair of Time Life South Pacific.
Bonnie is Chair of the East West Foundation, Business Benefits International Pty Ltd, and a director of the Order of Australia Assoc. Foundation and The Australian Golf Foundation. She has also served on the NSW Corporate Olympic committee for the past 33 years.
Some of her previous roles include 15 governmental, ASX and start up boards including the inaugural Chair of PayPal Australia 2006-2012, and Deputy Chair of the NSW State Lottery, and 15 philanthropic boards and committees.
Bonnie is an avid supporter of music and was Chair of the Keynote Committee of Opera Foundation of Australia from 1984 until 2000 and served on the board, as well as a principal fundraiser for Pacific Opera for the past 15 years.
Bonnie was awarded an Officer in the Order of Australia and The Centenary Medal in 2003, and in 2009, was knighted by Pope Benedict XVI with the title Dame in the Order of St Gregory the Great.
The Hon. George Palmer AM KSG KC
George Palmer was a judge of the Supreme Court of New South Wales for over a decade before he resigned to devote himself to full time composition.
Some of George's privately recorded works came to the attention of the ABC in 2003, resulting in an episode of Australian Story on ABC TV in 2004, a live broadcast by ABC FM of a concert of his orchestral music and the release by ABC Classics of two CDs, Attraction of Opposites, containing his orchestral music, and Exultate Dominum, containing choral music.
George's works include music for large orchestra, chamber ensembles, choir a cappella and with orchestra, song cycles and concertos for a variety of instruments. His music is performed by leading orchestras, soloists and chamber groups throughout Australia and New Zealand, and in the USA and Europe. For the Pope’s visit to Sydney for World Youth Day 2008, he was commissioned to compose the Papal Mass, Benedictus Qui Venit, which was performed to an audience of 350,000.
His opera of Tim Winton’s Cloudstreet was premiered by State Opera South Australia in 2016. Described by The Australian as a resounding triumph, it played to full houses and standing ovations. He is currently working on a new opera for production in 2025.
From 2004 to 2011 George was President of the Arts Law Centre of Australia and from 2003 to 2015 he was Chair of Pacific Opera Company Ltd. In 2010 he was made a Member of the Order of Australia for services to the law as a judge and to music as a composer and in leadership roles. In 2020 George was created a Papal Knight in the Order of St Gregory the Great for services to music, particularly to liturgical music, and the law.