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Photo: UNSW

Andrew Schultz was born in Adelaide in 1960 and grew up in regional NSW and Victoria before his family moved to Brisbane, where he completed school. He studied at the Universities of Queensland, Pennsylvania and King's College London where his teachers and mentors included Colin Brumby, George Crumb, David Lumsdaine and Luciano Berio. He has been the recipient of various awards in Australia and overseas, including Australia Council Fellowships, Fulbright Award, Commonwealth Scholarship, Paul Lowin Prize, Schueler Composition Award, Maggs Award and the APRA Award for Contemporary Classical Composition of the Year.

Andrew Schultz has written in most genres including large-scale symphonic and dramatic works. His orchestral music includes three symphonies. Symphony No. 1 In tempore stellae (1998) was premiered by the Melbourne Symphony and Chorale; Symphony No. 2 Ghosts of Reason (2008) by the Adelaide Symphony; and, Symphony No 3 Century (2012) was commissioned for the Canberra Symphony by the ACT Government for the Centenary of Canberra in 2013. Other orchestral works include The Devil's Music (1992) and Diver's Lament (1996) commissioned by the Sydney Symphony, Falling Man/Dancing Man (2005) commissioned by the Melbourne Symphony, Once upon a time… (2006) commissioned by the Queensland Symphony, and Endling (2007) commissioned by the Tasmanian Symphony. The acclaimed symphonic cantata Journey to Horseshoe Bend (2002-03, libretto by Gordon Kalton Williams after TGH Strehlow) was commissioned by Symphony Australia for the Sydney Symphony and Philharmonia Choirs.

His three operas have been presented live and on film internationally: Black River (1988, libretto by Julianne Schultz) was awarded the Australian National Composer Opera Award and, in its film version, the Grand-Prix, Opera Screen at Opéra-Bastille in Paris; Going into Shadows (2000, libretto by Julianne Schultz) was commissioned by the Guildhall School of Music, London and the Queensland Conservatorium of Music; The Children's Bach (2007, based on a novel by Helen Garner with libretto by Glenn Perry), was premiered by ChamberMade Opera in Melbourne. Another large-scale vocal work is a version of the Song of Songs (2004, text by Barry Hill), commissioned by ABC Radio and The Song Company. Other works for The Song Company include Ekstasis (1990) and Wild flower (2006). More recently, he has written Beach Burial for Sydney Philharmonia Choirs (2009), Magnificat (2009) for the Sydney Chamber Choir, Nunc Dimittis (2011) for the Brisbane Chamber Choir, and three song cycles, To the Evening Star (2009), Stille Sprache (2009) and I am writing in this book (2011).

Chamber works have also been widely performed, including Barren Grounds (1988), Dead Songs (1991), 12 Variations (1997), Tonic Continent (2000), The Meaning of Water (2006) and Clarinet Quintet (2010). The Australia Ensemble has commissioned two chamber music works - Circle Ground for septet (1995) and One Sound for flute and string quartet (2012). Recording releases include two CDs of orchestral music on the ABC Classics label, two volumes of chamber music on the Tall Poppies label, and a disc of vocal music on The Song Company's own label. Numerous recordings are available for download on iTunes and other digital platforms.

Andrew Schultz has held posts and residencies including Head of Composition and Music Studies at the Guildhall School of Music, London and Professor of Composition and Dean of Creative Arts at the University of Wollongong. He is currently Professor of Music and Head of the School of the Arts and Media at the University of New South Wales, Sydney. He has also served as Chair of the Arts NSW Music Committee, Chair of the Australian Music Centre Board, Editor of the Biographical Directory of Australian Composers and a tutor for the Australian Composers' Orchestral Forum and the Australian Composers' School.

Andrew Schultz — current to February 2013