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Photo: Caitlin Wiliams

Born in 1980, Taran Carter has been writing music since he realised that to be a pop star you either had to look good, sound good or write nice tunes. He chose the latter.

Carter's musical interests are diverse; they include Paul Simon, Toru Takemitsu, Augie March, Arvo Pärt, the Beatles, Iannis Xenakis and Radiohead. Perhaps due to these varied influences, Carter's music often explores the common aspects between the pop and contemporary classical worlds. This approach has attracted performances by groups such as the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Opera Australia, the Song Company, and Jason Xanthoudakis.

Carter has also written music for film, television, theatre and in 1999 was asked to write two songs to which the Australian Synchronised Swimming Team swam at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games. He has won many awards including the A.S.M.E. Victorian Young Composer's Competition in 1998, the Art of Percussion Composition Competition in 2000, the Quip Quip Composition Competition in 2001, the Percy Grainger Composition Competition in 2002 and the Magpie Research Dance Collaboration Award in 2004.

Other highlights in Carter's career include the sold-out premiere season of his first opera, Busking Hugs, (commissioned by Opera Australia) in October 2001 and the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra commission and premiere of Moondani Music in March 2004.

At the Victorian College of the Arts in Melbourne Carter studied under the tuition of Mark Pollard, Julian Yu and Johanna Selleck, but also found time to grab lessons from other influential composition teachers such as Michael Smetanin, Stuart Greenbaum and Laurie Whiffen. He completed a Bachelor of music in 2001, returning in 2004 to complete his Honours year. It was at the VCA that Carter formed the contemporary classical/pop group 'Tehai' which is now an active part of the festival circuit in Australia.

Biography provided by the composer — current to July 2006