Barry Conyngham : Represented Artist
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Random Audio Sample: ppp : for piano by Barry Conyngham, from the CD But I want the harmonica... |
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Artist website: http://www.conyngham.net
Barry Conyngham was born in Sydney, Australia. He studied with
Peter Sculthorpe in Australia and with Toru Takemitsu in
Japan.
Combining a distinguished academic career with his life as a
composer, he has spent time at many prestigious institutions
around the world. From 1993-2000 he was Foundation
Vice-Chancellor of Southern Cross University. During 2000-2001 he
held the position of Chair of Australian Studies at Harvard
University, after which he turned to full-time composition. In
February 2011 he commenced his present appointment as Dean of the
Faculty of VCA and MCM at the University of Melbourne.
He has received numerous awards, prizes and grants for
composition, including Churchill (1970), Harkness (1972-74),
Australia Council (1975), and Senior Fulbright (1982)
Fellowships. He has an ARIA and two Sounds Australian Critics
Awards and has been twice recognised at the Paris Rostrum of
Composers. In 1997 his contribution to his country was recognised
when he became a Member of the Order of Australia.
Conyngham has over 70 compositions under contract with Universal
Edition (London, Vienna), Boosey and Hawkes (Sydney, London) and
Hal Leonard (Melbourne). There are over 30 recordings featuring
his compositions - most notably a complete CD by the London
Symphony Orchestra.
Performances of his works in Europe, Asia, the USA and South
America indicate the international acceptance of Conyngham's
music. In Australia, the Sydney, Adelaide and Melbourne Symphony
Orchestras have all premiered new works by him since 2004.
2006 saw the premieres of Cathedral in Edinburgh, a
chamber opera, Electric Lenin, commissioned by Lyndon
Terracini, and To the Edge, a work for the
Melbourne-based chamber orchestra, Pro Arte Australia.
In 2007, two established works, the keyboard concerto
Monuments (1989) and the orchestral piece
Passing (1999), were featured by the Sydney Symphony
Orchestra and the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, respectively.
The latter work has been recorded for release on CD by the NZSO.
This year also saw the completion of his third String Quartet
Bushfire Dreaming for the Modigliani String Quartet of
France.
In 2008 he received the prestigious Albert Maggs Award Commission
and the chamber work Dry Spell was premiered in
Melbourne. Later that year, the large orchestral work Cala
tuent, featuring the music of the Balearic Islands of Spain
and commissioned by media company Grupo Serra, had its premiere
season on three continents with conductor Geoffrey Simon. On
October 10, the folk pipers Pep Toni Rubio (fabiol) and Joan
Frontera (xeremies) joined with the Orquestra Simfonica de
Balears for the world premiere in Palma Mallorca, Spain, with
projections of specially commissioned paintings by Nil Burwiz.
The following month, the Queensland Symphony gave the Australian
premiere, and the Pro Arte Orchestra of Hong Kong (Music Director
Ho Man Choi) performed the Asian premiere in Hong Kong with
Chinese suona player Ge Li performing the Spanish folk
material.
The Double Bass Concerto Kangaroo Island, featuring
bassist Robert Nairn, was premiered in Boston and Pennsylvania in
April 2009. His contribution to Jane Sheldon's 'The Origin
Cycle', Darwin: Comparing the Eye to a Telescope, was
premiered in October 2009. Major recent commissions include
The Gardener of Time for the Melbourne Symphony
Orchestra, celebrating the life of conductor Hiroyuki Iwaki and
premiered in November 2011, Showboat Kalang for the
Australia Ensemble, and Symphony, premiered by the Sydney
Symphony Orchestra in 2012.
Barry Conyngham — current to 2013
Teacher/Influence on
Stuart Greenbaum (1988 - 1989)
Stephen Holgate (1977 - 1979)
Christine McCombe (1987 - 1988)
Awards & Prizes
Year | Award | Placing | Awarded for |
---|---|---|---|
2012 | Art Music Awards: Work of the Year: Orchestral | Finalist | Gardener of Time |
2008 | Albert H Maggs Composition Award | First Prize | Showboat Kalang |
1997 | Order of Australia | Member of the Order | For service to music as a composer and to music education and administration |
1978 | Albert H Maggs Composition Award | First Prize | String quartet |
Selected Commissions
Work | Commission Details | |
---|---|---|
Showboat Kalang : for flute, clarinet, piano, two violins, viola, cello | Commissioned by Albert H. Maggs Foundation for performance by Australia Ensemble. | |
Symphony : full orchestra (2012) | "Thanks to Jane Mathews who supported the creation of this work" | |
Fallingwater : concerto for two bassoons, string orchestra, flute, clarinet, harp and percussion (2010) | Commissioned to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. | |
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Kangaroo Island : concerto for double bass and orchestra (2009) | Commissioned for Robert Nairn. |
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Fix : for baritone and orchestra (2004) | Commissioned by Symphony Australia for performance by Sydney Symphony. |
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Playground : trio (2002) | Commissioned by Verdehr Trio, Michigan State University. |
Analysis & Media
- Article: Tribute To A Composer Brings Out The Ghosts
- Article: Contrasting Composers Committed To Local Music
- Program note: Barry Conyngham's "Fix"
- Program note: Barry Conyngham's "Monuments"
- Program note: Barry Conyngham's "Now that darkness"
- Program note: Barry Conyngham's "Passing"
- Article: Dawn of a new world symphony
- Video: ANZAC (excerpts) by Barry Conyngham