JESS HITCHCOCK Jess Hitchcock is a Melbourne-based Indigenous singer-songwriter who has stirred the Australian music and performing arts scene as a genre-defying force. Her powerful voice and knack for storytelling has seen her shine across pop, country, folk, opera and music theatre, sharing the stage and studio with some of Australia's favourites.
One of Jess's most notable collaborations is with legendary Australian singer-songwriter Paul Kelly. Together they performed and recorded Paul's song, ‘Everyday My Mother’s Voice’, earning standing ovations across the nation. Jess has also collaborated with Archie Roach, Tina Arena and Kate Miller-Heidke.
Jess's much anticipated album, Unbreakable, was released mid 2023 and reached #4 in the AIR charts. When Jess is not on stage with her own band, or joining forces with Australian music legends, Jess lends her mezzo-soprano vocals to select performing arts companies, including MSO, SSO, Bangarra Dance Theatre, Victorian Opera and Opera Queensland. |
IAIN GRANDAGE Iain Grandage recently completed a five year tenure (2020–4) as Artistic Director of the Perth Festival where he was celebrated for bringing a sweeping sense of place to the Festivals he curated, with a strong commitment to Noongar artists and stories standing alongside events of scale like Highway to Hell. Previously, he has been Artistic Director of the Port Fairy Spring Music Festival, curated the fine music program for the Adelaide Festival (Chamber Landscapes) and been Composer-in-Residence with the WA Symphony Orchestra. He has received the prestigious Sidney Myer Performing Arts Award, been awarded an Honorary Doctorate from UWA and was the 2023 West Australian of the Year for Culture & the Arts. |
HOLLY HARRISON Holly Harrison is an award-winning Australian composer from Western Sydney. Her music is driven by the nonsense literature of Lewis Carroll, embracing stylistic juxtapositions, the visceral energy of rock, and whimsical humour. She is one of the most commissioned and performed composers of her generation, with works frequently heard across Australia, Asia, Europe, and the USA. In 2020–2, she was the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra’s Composer-in-Residence. |
ISAAC HAYWARD Isaac Hayward is an Australian Helpmann award-winning music director, conductor and arranger who works internationally. His credits include Opera Australia, the UK's National Theatre, Sydney Theatre Company, Melbourne Theatre Company, Queensland Theatre, New Zealand Opera and Broadway. His arranging credits include Sydney Symphony, Adelaide Symphony, San Diego Symphony, and Carnegie Hall. |
MATT LAING Matt Laing is a composer and viola player from Melbourne. He’s received commissions from the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Melbourne Chamber Orchestra, the Australian String Quartet, Affinity Quartet, ANAM and Musica Viva Australia, amongst many others. For more visit mattlaing.com |
MAY LYON Lyon’s music is inspired by nature and deep emotions, focusing on timbre and patterns. In 2024 Lyon’s 90-minute opera, Pieces of Margery, had its showcase premiere, and Ensemble Offspring premiered a semi-theatrical work on Scottish lore. In 2023 MVA toured Forces of Nature (Wildschut & Brauss), and Lyon’s short ballet was a finalist for an Art Music Award. |
JAMES MOUNTAIN James Mountain is an award-winning, Sydney-based composer. He studied classical composition at the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music and completed a Master’s in film music at the Australian Film Television and Radio School. In 2023 James received an APRA AMCOS Screen Music Award for his score to the AACTA-nominated short film Mud Crab. |
NICOLE MURPHY Nicole Murphy’s music has been described as 'exquisite and sensitive' (Sydney Morning Herald), 'strong and compelling' (Loudmouth) and 'full of exhilarating tension' (Arts Knoxville). Her music has been commissioned by arts organisations such as The Australian Ballet, the Royal Academy of Dance (London), the MSO, and Symphony Space (New York). |
CHRISTINE PAN Christine Pan (she/they) is a Sydney-based artist led by her passion for powerful storytelling. Their compositions have been performed and published across Australia, and internationally. In 2024, she received the MOMENTUM commission for a bass clarinet solo work and the Arts Music Fund to support her endeavours into opera with her first song cycle, The Parts We Give. |
BEN ROBINSON Ben Robinson is a versatile composer whose music is equal parts thrilling, playful, reflective and chaotic. He creates engaging musical arcs of ‘fun and fury’ (Limelight) through agile and colourful ideas, earning commissions for the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, Omega Ensemble, the Australian National Academy of Music and Ensemble Apex. |
HARRY SDRAULIG Harry Sdraulig is one of the most in-demand composers of his generation. His harmonically rich and rhythmically intricate music has been performed by most of Australia’s major orchestras and chamber ensembles, while he has also collaborated internationally with the likes of Yo-Yo Ma, Kathryn Stott, and the Rosin Octet. |
ALEX TURLEY Young Australian composer Alex Turley has worked with all of Australia's major orchestras and collaborated with a diverse group of artists including Ali McGregor, Banks, Ben Folds, Dan Sultan, Electric Fields, Emma Donovan, Eskimo Joe, Genesis Owusu, G Flip, the Hoodoo Gurus, Ngaiire, Paul Grabowsky and Rüfüs Du Sol. He was the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra's 2022 Young Composer-in-Residence and has also been awarded a Creative Fellowship from the Forrest Research Foundation and the Layton Fellowship from UNSW |
