Australian Music Centre | Breaking sound barriers

Michael Bakrnčev

Queensland, Australia / Macedonia

Michael Bakrnčev (b. 1989) is an Australian contemporary classical composer, conductor and educator. He is currently finalising his Honours degree at the Queensland Conservatorium under the supervision of Gerard Brophy. His music has been performed internationally in Canada, USA, Austria, Scotland, Serbia, Macedonia (Days of Macedonian Music Festival 2012, Skopje), and in Australia in Melbourne, Adelaide (as part of the Australian Youth Orchestra's National Music Camp) and Brisbane (Encounters Music Festival 2010 and Crossbows Chamber Music Festival 2012, among others). In 2012, Michael was named the youngest member of the Association of Composers from Macedonia (SOKOM).

His Sonatina for tuba and piano was recently performed by Thomas Allely at the World Tuba and Euphonium Conference (ITEC) in Linz, Austria. His Saxophone Quartet received its international debut at the Sixteenth World Saxophone Congress, Scotland by the Barega Saxophone Quartet. Along with music by eight other Brisbane composers, Michael’s piece Dreaming of an Imaginary Country (inspired by a quote by Debussy) will be featured on an album titled Grey St. on the Dare CD Project label.

Michael is the winner of several awards, including the Music Teachers' Association of Queensland Composition Competition (2011), the June Fox Patron Award (2011), Vox Novus, 15 Minutes of Fame prize (New York 2011) and the prestigious Adolph Spivakovsky Scholarship (VCA/Melbourne University) for Composition of Music in 2012.

> Read Michael's MODART diary on Resonate

Adam Cook

ACT, Australia

Adam Cook (b. 1988) started playing the piano at a young age and continued through high school, learning both classical and jazz. At the age of 16, as a scholarship student, he moved straight on to study composition at the University of Western Australia, under Prof. Roger Smalley. He also received private lessons in classical piano from Anna Sleptsova. After playing for Larry Sitsky, Professor Emeritus at the ANU School of Music, Adam was invited to move to Canberra and complete a degree in piano performance. In 2007, he was invited to participate in one year of private study in France with Emeritus Professor of the University of Ottawa, Jean-Paul Sevilla, with whom he completed a Diplôme d'Excellence en Musique. Returning from this trip, Adam completed his Bachelor of Music in piano and French, and is currently enrolled at the ANU in an Honours degree in piano. As part of the degree, he premiered Sitsky's Sonata No. 2 for piano, composed for Adam in 2010.

Adam Cook composes regularly for his own ensemble. The Monotremes began as a keyboard duo but later evolved into trio with drums, then five-piece with electric bassoon and bass. Bassoon was replaced by trumpet, and in its current manifestation the band has both a trumpet and baritone saxophone. Adam's compositions experiment with rapidly shifting styles and genres, and are influenced by Adam's favourite composers, including Bach, Shostakovich, Monk and Zappa. The band's first album is currently in production.

Matthew Rankin

ACT, Australia

Matthew Rankin (b. 1986) is a composer, pianist, copyist, audio engineer and computer programmer. He began studying music at the age of seven and writing music at the age of 13, inspired primarily by impressionism, ragtime and video game soundtracks. In 2006, he moved to Canberra to study composition with Larry Sitsky and Jim Cotter at the ANU School of Music. He has since completed degrees in both music and science at the Australian National University. In 2009, he won the Harold Allen Memorial Prize for composition, and the Australian Decorative and Fine Arts Society's Young Composers’ Competition. In 2011, he won the Sprogis Woods Jazz Composition Prize, with the winning work featured in the program of the 2011 Canberra International Music Festival. Later in 2011 he was invited to provide original orchestral arrangements of several popular ABBA songs for the internationally acclaimed mezzo-soprano Anne Sofie von Otter.

In 2012, Matt achieved first-class honours in computer science with a thesis on algorithmic composition; this project focused on the development of a computational model derived from the theories in the Schillinger System of Musical Composition. Matt has regularly performed or conducted his own works in concerts at the Canberra School of Music, and has had work premiered by the National Capital Orchestra. He has worked as an audio engineer and a professional copyist, and is a member of the Music Arrangers' Guild of Australia.

Matt's compositional output frequently features the entire orchestral palette, but also includes many works for solo piano and various chamber ensembles. Additionally, many of his compositions utilise sampling and sound programming, and thus exist only as electronic artefacts. Recently, his focus has been directed towards computer-generated and interactive music – not as a means of replacing the composer (!), but as a natural manifestation and extension of the composer-programmer's technique.

Owen Salome

New South Wales, Australia

Owen Salome's (b. 1990) experience as a musician is diverse. As a composer, Owen Salome (b. 1990) has worked with a number of professional ensembles. As part of Chronology Arts’ 2012 Lyrebird project, he collaborated with the poet Phillip Porter to create a new work for Halcyon in conjunction with members of Chronology Arts. The product of this collaboration, a trio for mezzo-soprano, flute and cello, titled Carthusian Silence, was performed by Halcyon and Chronology Arts at a series of concerts in August 2012. In 2011, he had taken part in the ensemble's Emerging Artists Program, and Carthusian Silence was the third piece by Owen's performed by the ensemble.

In 2011, working with Speak Percussion as a part of their 2010-2011 Emerging Artists Program, Owen composed the percussion quartet Ensō. The work takes its inspiration from the Japanese Zen aesthetic, and some of the ideas explored in Ensō were realised more fully in Differentiation (for the Sydney Conservatorium Saxophone Ensemble) and In the Kitchen (for mezzo-soprano and chamber orchestra). Owen’s recent short work Platypus was commissioned by Susanna Bishop and Emily-Rose Šarkova for their concert 'Tales from five lands'.

As sound designer, composer and sole-performing musician in Semicolonbackslash’s production Landing Owen helped co-write an award-winning show that toured at the 2010 Sydney and Melbourne fringe festivals. Owen’s other performance experience includes performances with ‘continental boogie’ quintet My Sauce Good, arranging and performing with the modern tango quintet Tangalo, and arranging, composing and performing as a part of the gypsy-band Doc Jones and the Lechery Orchestra.

Owen was the winner of the 2007 Sibelius Young Composers Award for his piece Deep Fish, performed by Ensemble Offspring.

> Read Owen's MODART diary on Resonate blog

Dylan Sheridan

Tasmania, Australia

Dylan Sheridan (b. 1984) is a composer and sound artist from Tasmania, Australia. In 2011 he completed his Master’s degree at the College-Conservatory of Music in Cincinnati, USA, where he studied composition with Joel Hoffman and Michael Fiday. He also holds a Bachelor’s degree from the Tasmanian Conservatorium of Music, where he studied with Douglas Knehans and Don Kay.

Throughout 2012 Dylan has been engaged in a mentorship with IHOS Opera through the Australia Council for the Arts’ Jump mentoring program. As part of this mentorship he is currently writing a chamber opera which will be performed at the 2013 MONA FOMA festival in Tasmania. In 2013, Dylan will begin residencies and mentorship programs with Aphids and ChamberMade Opera.

Dylan’s work ranges from concert music to chamber opera and sound installation. His music has been commissioned and performed by ensembles and musicians including the Café moMus contemporary music ensemble (USA), SQ22 Saxophone Quartet (Australia) and the Hobart Chamber Orchestra. He has also written for and presented at festivals including MONA FOMA and Music11 (Switzerland) where his work was awarded an honourable mention.

Dylan has been supported by grants and scholarships from Australia Council for the Arts’ ArtStart grant, a JUMP mentorship grant, and a Tas Regional Arts Quick Response grant, as well as a graduate scholarship from the University of Cincinnati.

> Read Dylan's MODART diary on Resonate blog

Marcus Whale

New South Wales, Australia

Marcus Whale (b. 1990) is a Sydney-based composer and musician. His compositions have been performed by Synergy Percussion, Zubin Kanga, Ensemble Offspring, Chronology Arts and Volta Collective. As a solo artist, and under the name Scissor Lock, he has produced music using his voice and lo-fi electronics densely reconfigured by laptop processing, with releases on New Weird Australia’s New Editions label, HellosQuare recordings, Sound&Fury, and others.

An avid collaborator, he has produced live and recorded works with video artist Michael Salerno, dancers Caterina Mocciola and Ashley Macqueen, performance artist Ivan Cheng, and musicians Thomas William, Guerre and Oscar Slorach-Thorn. As an improviser on electronics he has performed in groups such as the Splinter Orchestra. He is also a member of electronic R&B duo Collarbones with Adelaide’s Travis Cook, touring extensively and releasing two albums on Two Bright Lakes/Remote Control in 2011/2012.

Under these guises, Marcus has performed and presented work at events including Sydney Festival (2012), Brisbane Festival (2012), the NOW Now Festival (2011), Time Machine Festival (2012), Sydney Fringe Festival (2012), Sound Summit (2010-2011) and Electrofringe (2010).

Yeo Chow

Malaysia

Malacca-born Yeo Chow Shern (b. 1988) read music at the Malaysian Institute of Art, Peabody Institute of Music and Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music, Singapore. His principal composition teachers include Prof. Ho Chee Kong, Kevin Puts, Yuan Leow Yunn. He has also worked with composers Chong Kee Yong, Branko Stark and Cecilia Kim in masterclasses.

One of his choral works The Sound of Portugese Malacca has selected by Coro de Camara de Lisboa (Lisbon Chamber Choir, Portugal) for their project Asian Music, and recorded for a CD release.

Daniel Lo

Hong Kong, China

Daniel Lo Ting-cheung (b.1986) received his MPhil (Music Composition) in 2012 under the supervision of Dr Chan Hing‐yan at the University of Hong Kong where he also received his BA (Music) degree with first class honours. He is currently a PhD (Composition) candidate at the University of York under the supervision of Professor William Brooks, supported by the Hong Kong Jockey Club Music and Dance Fund.

Lo has received formal instruction for piano and percussion since childhood, and has been the recipient of various awards and scholarships, including first prizes in the New Generation 2010, organised by the Hong Kong Composers’ Guild, the 2010‐2011 Migratory Journeys International Composition Competition (Sojourner’s Song for pipa, flute, double bass, piano and two percussion), the 2012 MeA Competition Contest in Rome, Italy (Laura for narrator and chamber orchestra). In 2010, Lo was invited to the first annual International Antonín Dvořák Composition Competition at Prague on the merit of his work Galactic Gala for piano, drum set and gamelan gong kebyar (3rd prize and the chamber music prize). Lo's recent work Night and Day for solo percussion and string orchestra was awarded the 2nd prize in the Sofia 2012 International Composition Competition.

Daniel Lo takes an interest in a wide spectrum of music, ranging from Renaissance to modern jazz, from the works of Gesualdo to those of Chick Corea. His works have been performed by world-renowned musicians and ensembles such as players from the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Bang-on-a-Can, and Orchestra of Our Time (USA), Piccolo Orchestra (Italy), Internationale Ensemble Modern Akademie (Germany), Sofia Soloists (Bulgaria), Hong Kong Kamerata, Hong Kong New Music Ensemble, pianist Mary Wu and pipa master Yang Wei.

Celeste Oram

Celeste Oram was born in Manhattan, grew up in London, and has lived in Auckland since the age of seven. In 2012 she completed a BMus(Hons) BA with first class honours at the University of Auckland, majoring in composition, musicology, German and drama. 

As a composer, flautist, singer, actor, and director, Celeste seeks out places where diverse performing arts disciplines collide. Her works have been performed by the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra, and the Intrepid Music Project, and broadcast nationally in New Zealand. In May 2011, her chamber opera The Electrical Eclipse, with libretto by Claire Bracegirdle, was premiered at the University of Auckland. 

Celeste has a particular interest in composing for theatre, and has scored songs and incidental music for productions ranging from Euripidean tragicomedy, to German-language theatre, and to various Shakespeare plays. She has received awards from the Douglas Lilburn Trust in both composition and performance, the Douglas Mews composition prize, and a scholarship from the Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst to study in Leipzig. 

> Read Celeste's MODART diary on Resonate blog