Australian Composers & Selective Wind Repertoire List

List of Australian Composers

This list comprises Australian composers across both band and orchestral genres at all levels. Most are well-known in their field, others deserve to be. Some write works only at a professional level, however they have been included to give an indication of the breadth of music available and as a listening resource. For a more exhaustive list including many lesser-known composers see Resources below.

Earlier composers

John Anthill (1904 - 1986)

Arthur Benjamin (1893 - 1960)

Don Banks (1923 - 1980)

Peggy Glanville-Hicks (1912 - 1990)

Percy Grainger (1882 - 1961)

Eugene Goossens (1893 - 1962)

Dulcie Holland (1913 - 2000)

Miriam Hyde (1913 - 2005)

Richard Meale (1932 - 2009)

Living composers (a selective list) – by State of residence

Australian Capital Territory

Larry Sitsky

New South Wales

Jodie Blackshaw

Nigel Butterley

Ann Carr-Boyd

Gerard Brophy

Barry Conyngham

Ross Edwards

Andrew Ford

Christopher Gordon

Matthew Hindson

Elena Kats-Chernin

Roger Smalley (NSW)

Paul Stanhope

David Stanhope

Carl Vine

Martin Wesley-Smith

Nigel Westlake

Queensland

Colin Brumby

Sarah Hopkins

Ralph Hultgren

David Jones

Peter Sculthorpe

Sean Thorne

South Australia

Graham Koehne

Keith Wilson

Tasmania

Don Kay

Simon Reade

Victoria

Katy Abbott

Andrew Batterham

Brenton Broadstock

Greg Butcher

Taran Carter

Brendan Collins

Brett Dean

Lachlan Davidson

George Dreyfus

Tim Fisher

Mike Fitzpatrick

Stuart Greenbaum

Chris Henzgen

Brian Hogg

Gordon Kerry

Karen Kyriakou

Graham Lloyd

Barry McKimm

Bruce Rowland

Julian Yu

Western Australia

Richard Mills

United States:

Sean O’Boyle (New York)

Selected Annotated List of Australian works for Band

This is not an exhaustive list and only covers works for band. All lists of repertoire are personal and selective. I have not mentioned pieces by every composer listed above, nor have I tried to give a full account of any one composers body of work. In the lists below I mention works that I have either conducted, performed or studied and personally believe to be well-crafted works that deserve to be shared with other conductors. This list is designed to be used as a springboard to exploring the works of these and other Australian composers.

Grade 1

Whirlwind Jodie Blackshaw

A work in ¾ time in A minor – a real rarity at this level – that uses only five notes, but creates innovative soundscapes through concert and home-made percussion and tuned whirlies. There are copious online resources for this piece that was designed to be taught through the Orff-Schulwerk approach.

Simple Song Ralph Hultgren

A gorgeous, lyrical work in ¾ time that provides endless expressive opportunities for both conductor and ensemble.

Grade 2

Two Places Sean Thorne

The Man from Snowy River Bruce Rowland arr. Jay Bocook

A great arrangement for younger players of themes from Bruce Rowland’s soundtrack to the film. It includes the all-important transition into ‘Waltzing Matilda’ and provides good rhythmic challenges in the accompaniment parts.

Grade 3-3.5

Australian Up-Country Tune Percy Grainger arr. G.C. Bainum

A perennial favourite expressing Australian ‘up-country feeling’ as Percy put it. A great way to introduce younger bands to the music and timbral concepts of Grainger.

Llwyn Onn Brian Hogg

This setting of The Ash Grove begins serenely with subtle percussion colours complementing the winds and brass. After the initial statements of the melody, new material is introduced bringing the work to a rousing climax before the music returns to the atmosphere of it’s gentle opening. A classic.

Rush George Dreyfus

Rollicking and great fun (especially when the written part for Ab harmonica is used) this theme song from the TV Series Rush is quintessentially Australian.

Terpischorean Dances Jodie Blackshaw

A vibrant, colourful single-movement setting of several renaissance dances.

In Stillness Brian Hogg

Beautiful, lyrical chorale inspired by Elgar’s Enigma Variations which demands expressive playing from every member of the band.

Droylesden Wakes David Stanhope

Though based on an English folk-song, Droylesden Wakes (from the Folksong Suite No. 3) is Stanhope’s homage to Percy Grainger. Primarily in ¾ time, it provides many challenging fermatas for the conductor and ensemble.

Eliza's Aria from Wild Swans Elena Kats-Chernin arr. Ed Keeley

An interesting arrangement of the most popular tune from the ballet Wild Swans, the original soprano solo is given initially to the oboe, before being taken up in other sections. Pointillistic in nature, this work provides textures seen in very few other Australian compositions for band.

Larino, Safe Haven George Dreyfus

A wistful remembrance of the place to which the composer was housed after fleeing war-torn Europe. Simple, soft and elegant.

Grade 4-4.5

Punga Aaku Keith Wilson

A haunting, original work that captures the moods of the Australian desert.

Gold! Adrian Hill

Vanguard Andrew Batterham

A racing opener in ABA style from this Melbourne-based composer is centred on a four note motif which features challenges for all sections.

Kelly Brian Hogg

Deriving most of it’s material from the folksongs “My Name is Edward Kelly”, “Kelly’s farewell to Greta” and “Stringybark Creek” this inventive piece is fun for all players and provides great teaching points on syncopated rhythms.

See also: Psalm, The Stone Guest

The Man from Snowy River Bruce Rowland arr. Barry Bignell

Deftly scored transcription of themes from the iconic film, this arrangement retains all the symphonic and filmic qualities of the original, including an essential piano part.

The Streets of Forbes David Jones

Galloping, bright outer sections frame a mournful rendition of the folksong of the same name, scored for solo voice.

The Little Ripper March David Stanhope

Full of uneven phrase lengths and unexpected interjections, this 6/8 march again shows touches of the Grainger larrikin spirit so admired by Stanhope.

The Loaded Dog Graham Lloyd

An extensive work for narrator and concert band, it follows Henry Lawson’s comical short story of the same name. The humour and drama of the story are quirkily reflected in the music, which has optional cartoon projections for added impact. An absolute crowd pleaser.

Black Saturday Mike Fitzpatrick

A brooding meditation on the losses of the Black Saturday bushfires commissioned by the Eltham Concert Band.

Small Town Peter Sculthorpe arr. McAllister

A good transcription of this sauntering depiction of country town life in Australia the larger work The Fifth Continent, inspired by a holiday the composer took with artist and close friend Russell Drysdale. It includes antiphonal trumpet writing, echoing the last post, which recalls ubiquitous small town war memorials.

Past Life Melodies Sarah Hopkins arr. Benjamin Northey

The main theme of this work is indeed timeless, and hauntingly familiar despite being entirely the composer’s own. This piece also features tuned whirlies, adding to its unearlthly quality.

The Gum-Sucker's March Percy Grainger ed. R. Mark Rogers

From Grainger’s “In A Nutshell Suite” the term Gum-Suckers refers to Victorians’ apparent predilection to sucking gum leaves. Boisterous and bouncy it includes all of the composers’ trademark colourful writing and scoring (including piano and much ‘tuneful percussion).

Nett Interference Taran Carter

A unique, original work reflecting the patterns and pulsations of electronic sounds that have become commonplace. Rhythmically intricate, this fanfare-like piece presents a challenge to steady pulse and rhythmic independence.

Grade 5+

The Promise Tim Davies

A major work of extended instrumentation (requiring a large offstage ensemble).

Kosciuszko Brendan Collins

Folksong Suites for Band David Stanhope

Stanhope has written three folksong suites for band, each technically and musically challenging and rewarding. The multi-movement works display harmonic and orchestrational writing modelled on the works of Stanhope’s self-confessed idol, Percy Grainger.

Sousltrom Jodie Blackshaw

A deep, emotional 15-minute work, Soulstrom is a meditation on personal loss. The piece contains many exposed soloistic passages and improvised soundscapes and unfurls slowly before winding up to an enormous, full-scale, eventually jubilant conclusion.

Colonial Song Percy Grainger ed. R. Mark Rogers

Though it uses the same melodic material as Australian Up-Country Tune, the counterpoint and harmonic treatment is much more advanced in Colonial song. A masterwork that should be performed by all ensembles at this level.

Masada Ralph Hultgren

This composition presents a musical battle between the Romans and the zealots at the garrison of Masada. The romans are represented by a dark, foreboding theme, which is contasted against the zealots’ dance, mainly in 7/8. Challenging and lively. Also at this level: Bushdance, Eminence, Whirr Whirr Whirr.

Veni Veni Emmanuel Carl Vine arr. Simon Reade

Composers, Publishers,

Resources – Finding Australian Music

Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Australian_composers - Extensive list that combines the listings of Australian composers from several different sources.

Australian Music Centre: www.australianmusiccentre.org.au

Look for their list of represented artists. Lots of links to external material and helpful information including influences on composers and with whom they have studied. Also has scores and recordings for sale with some online samples.

Music Australia: www.musicaustralia.org

An initiative of the National Library of Australia designed to aid in research regarding Australian music.

Australian Composers site: www.Australiancomposers.com.au

Australian Publishers of local Band & Orchestral music:

Reed Music www.reedmusic.com

Brolga Music www.brolgamusic.com

Middle C Publications: www.middlec.com.au

Musos Media www.musosmedia.com.au

See also: Australian Music Publishers Association: www.ampal.com.au - list of Australian publishers across all genres.

This article was first published in Interlude, the magazine of the Australian Band & Orchestra Directors' Association Vic. Branch

Choosing repertoire (school groups)- musings on our biggest responsibility

Although it comes around several times per year, the December/January period is often an intense time when it comes to choosing repertoire. Apart from score study, this probably takes up the largest amount of time in terms of my preparation for a term/season of teaching.

How much should you plan at once?
With my school group I try to plan the whole year at once, if not further. We actually start the 'year' in September, so most of my repertoire has already been set for some time. I have been using the last few weeks to slot final pieces into place. The advantages of planning a year in advance are the same as those for teachers planning any other curriculum. You need to be able to plan a course sequential learning.

I have just returned from the Midwest Clinic where I heard a great presentation given by Richard Miles, editor of the "Teaching Music Through Performance" series at GIA, whose topic was "The Score is the Curriculum". I have always had long range planning in my sights, in the back of my mind, but he provided a great framework for making it happen. In actual fact he presented and compared and contrasted a whole variety of 'hybrid cycles' of programming that have been proposed over the years, some of which are in the books.

The main points that really resonated were:

1. Plan over a four year cycle.

It doesn't matter what year in the cycle kids enter the ensemble, as throughout their time they will be exposed to all of it. I know this is almost the opposite to what I was saying about sequential learning, but keep reading.

2. Use the cycle to simultaneously teach periods/styles and about the elements of music

Now these systems have been designed for use in the US, where Band or Orchestra is a class, and 'Classroom Music' as we know it in Australia often does not exist. In the absence of such a class, all aspects of musicianship - history, performance, theory etc. must be taught IN ENSEMBLE.

Whilst you may think this is not necessary in an Australian co-curricular ensemble, think about how many of your students do classroom music all the way up to year 12. Now think about how much content they miss out on for each year they are not doing it beyond the compulsory years. I think we owe it to not only the students, but also the music we are performing (read composers!) to give them a grounding in the music history and theory behind what we are playing. This only serves to give them more insight into, and by extension more enjoyment of the music.

The way he structured it was:

Year 1: Mediaeval/Renaissance/Baroque - focus on melody

Year 2: Classical/Romantic - focus on harmony

Year 3: Contemporary 1 - focus on rhythm

Year 4: Contemporary 2 - focus on timbre

This really makes sense to me. Very broadly, it's highlighting the major developments of music history through repertoire selection. However, you wouldn't want to spend the whole year just playing music from one period (well, you might!)...so he advocates using the repertoire as follows:

(Presuming four major concerts/year)

Concert 1: One Period piece

Concert 2: A piece from the core repertoire (any era)

Concert 3: One Period piece

Concert 4: A piece from the core repertoire (any era)

It's not all-consuming. Just two pieces throughout the year. But it gives a thread that weaves through your whole year of teaching, you can refer back to things discussed earlier in the year, helping the students make connections. Having the core repertoire also means you don't neglect these important Masterworks. I like the idea of having things that tie all your teaching together and in a way that you are not missing anything out. The structure keeps you on task. I am going to try to begin with this plan this year....I will let you know how I go!

How do you plan?

I want to combine the historical/core repertoire teaching of the Richard Miles model with my musical goals for the students.

Assessment - looking at past and present

Firstly, in order to come up with these goals I spend a lot of time reviewing where the ensemble is at currently and what they have achieved in the past. What are the strengths and weaknesses of the ensemble? What are the strengths and weaknesses of individual players? What is holding the group back musically? What challenges do they need next? This assessment is constant and ongoing - at each rehearsal, weekly, monthly, in performance. It might also be guided by other people's comments about the group, adjudicator notes etc. How successful have they been in achieving the previous set of goals?

Vision - looking forward

What is next for the group? I usually start at the end of the period being planned - I envision what I would like the ensemble to achieve by the end of the year. This might be a set of particular musical aptitudes - ie. I want them to be able to confidently play syncopated semiquaver rhythms at sight, to independently shape a solo or phrase - or it might be a specific piece. Usually if I have a specific piece in mind it is because subconsciously it is ticking a whole lot of musical boxes of what I want them to accomplish. The more specific these goals are the better.

The repertoire choice is wholly determined by what I want the students to get out of it musically.

Then, based on these end goals I find what repertoire I would like them to be playing at the end of the year. After this it is just a matter of working backwards to build up to the final point. Ie. If I want to program Redline Tango by John Mackey for our final concert I know the band will need to be able to:

• perform complex semiquaver-based rhythms incl. syncopations in mixed meters
• maintain a fast pulse through mixed compound & simple meters
• have technical dexterity in certain keys
• have a certain secure range with good intonation on their instrument
• certain players will need to perform convincing, expressive solos

And I know that currently:

• they have technical dexterity in certain keys, but not at that tempo
• may have a slightly narrower range on their instrument with good intonation
• can play quaver based rhythms & syncopations in mixed meters
• can play semiquaver based rhythms & syncopations in simple meters at moderate tempo
• some players are reluctant when playing solos

So knowing where we are and where we need to get to I work backwards finding pieces that will work us towards the final skills needed.

The repertoire is the test of whether they have mastered the skills I am trying to teach. If they get to the first reading of ie. Redline Tango and have lots of problems and we have to keep stopping and starting then I haven't done my job properly. The idea is that by the time that arrives on their stands they are really ready to tackle it so there isn't too much time spent on technical drilling and we can actually make music. This means that my teaching always has to be ahead of the repertoire - making sure we cover the necessary skill development through warm ups in particular.

That said, there are a whole lot of other constraints to consider:

• Instrumentation
• Performances - venue, duration, audience
• Appeal to audience & students
• Contrasting styles
• Covering a wide variety of genres, styles, composers, sound-worlds

Tim Reynish explains it well (from timreynish.com):

"Would I, as a solo player, want to work on this music, does it satisfy me in terms of emotional content, melody, harmony, form, orchestration?"

If you can answer this question with a confident yes, you are on the right path.

Anyway, those are just my thoughts. What informs how YOU choose repertoire?