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Thea Rossen is a dynamic percussionist, composer, collaborator, and educator whose work connects audiences with music through immersive, transformational experiences. Known for her intuitive and inviting approach, Rossen has garnered multiple awards, including the 2017 Hugh Rogers Fellowship and being named a 2018 Freedman Fellowship finalist.

Her innovative work, Music for Our Changing Climate, developed through a residency at the Banff Centre (CAN), explores climate change through powerful, multidisciplinary performance. Similarly, Carnival of Dangerous Creatures, presented with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, showcases Rossen's ability to engage audiences of all ages with complex themes.

As a composer Rossen has been commissioned by the Brisbane Music Festival as well as University of Melbourne Conservatorium of Music and WAAPA to create new works for staff and students to perform. Her piece Sounds of the Reef was arranged for the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra in 2018 and her music has been played at the Melbourne Recital Centre, Bang on a Can Festival and Holmes à Court Gallery.

Rossen's career draws on her background as a student at the Australian National Academy of Music and her extensive solo and chamber performance experience. She has performed at major festivals such as Extended Play (2019), Perth Festival (2024) and Four Winds Easter Festival (2023). She is the director of Ad Lib Collective and ensemble that builds immersive transformational performance experiences for audiences through interdisciplinary collaborations. Regular collaborators include electronic duo Sleep D, synth artists Wind Up Bird, clarinettist Ashley Smith and media artist Sohan Ariel Hayes. Recent projects include Milk Carton Confessions with composer Michael Sollis and Porcelain, a performance event with Hayes.

Beyond performance, Rossen is a gifted educator, having created programs for leading Australian orchestras and Musica Viva in Schools. Her touring show, Water Water Everywhere, featuring Tan Dun's Water Concerto, reached over 50,000 school children. Her latest show, Walking with the Wilderness, invites young audiences to explore nature through music.

Rossen's work blends conceptual artistry with community engagement, exemplified by projects like the Benalla Junk Orchestra and her direction of Flowerpot Music by Elliot Cole. With a passion for connection and inclusion, she continues to use music as a powerful tool for discovery, connection and engagement.

Biography provided by the composer