Ross Edwards (born 23 December 1943) is an
AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the continental mainland , the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans...
n
composerA composer is a person who creates music, usually by musical notation, for interpretation and performance. The level of distinction between composers and other musicians varies, which affects issues such as copyright and the deference given to individual interpretations of a particular piece of...
of a wide variety of music including orchestral and chamber music, choral music, children's music, opera and film music.
Ross Edwards was born in
SydneySydney is the largest city in Australia, and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney has a metropolitan area population of approximately 4.34 million and an area of approximately 12,000 square kilometres. Its inhabitants are called Sydneysiders, and Sydney is often called "the Harbour City"...
. He received his early musical education at the
Sydney Conservatorium of MusicThe Sydney Conservatorium of Music is one of the oldest and most prestigious music schools in Australia...
, completing his Master of Music degree at the
University of AdelaideThe University of Adelaide is a public university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third oldest university in Australia...
and graduating as Doctor of Music from the
University of SydneyThe University of Sydney is the oldest university in Australia. It was established in Sydney in 1850. It is a member of Australia's "Group of Eight" universities that are highly ranked in terms of their research performance...
. His teachers have included
Peter SculthorpePeter Joshua Sculthorpe AO OBE is a noted Australian composer. Much of his music has resulted from an interest in the music of Australia's neighbours as well as from the impulse to bring together aspects of native Australian music with that of the heritage of the West...
, for whom he later worked as an assistant,
Richard MealeRichard Meale is one of Australia's leading instrumental composers.Meale was born in Sydney and studied piano with Winifred Burston at the NSW State Conservatorium of Music, as well as clarinet, harp, history and theory, before studying at the University of California, Los Angeles and other...
,
Sandor VeressSándor Veress was a Swiss composer of Hungarian origin. The first half of his life was spent in Hungary; the second, from 1949 until his death, in Switzerland, of which he became a citizen in the last months of his life.Veress taught at the Franz Liszt Academy in Budapest...
and Sir
Peter Maxwell DaviesSir Peter Maxwell Davies, CBE , is an English composer and conductor and is currently Master of the Queen's Music.-Biography:Davies was born in Salford, Greater Manchester. He took piano lessons and composed from an early age...
, with whom he studied in Adelaide and again in London in the early 1970s.
Ross Edwards (born 23 December 1943) is an
AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the continental mainland , the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans...
n
composerA composer is a person who creates music, usually by musical notation, for interpretation and performance. The level of distinction between composers and other musicians varies, which affects issues such as copyright and the deference given to individual interpretations of a particular piece of...
of a wide variety of music including orchestral and chamber music, choral music, children's music, opera and film music.
Life
Ross Edwards was born in
SydneySydney is the largest city in Australia, and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney has a metropolitan area population of approximately 4.34 million and an area of approximately 12,000 square kilometres. Its inhabitants are called Sydneysiders, and Sydney is often called "the Harbour City"...
. He received his early musical education at the
Sydney Conservatorium of MusicThe Sydney Conservatorium of Music is one of the oldest and most prestigious music schools in Australia...
, completing his Master of Music degree at the
University of AdelaideThe University of Adelaide is a public university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third oldest university in Australia...
and graduating as Doctor of Music from the
University of SydneyThe University of Sydney is the oldest university in Australia. It was established in Sydney in 1850. It is a member of Australia's "Group of Eight" universities that are highly ranked in terms of their research performance...
. His teachers have included
Peter SculthorpePeter Joshua Sculthorpe AO OBE is a noted Australian composer. Much of his music has resulted from an interest in the music of Australia's neighbours as well as from the impulse to bring together aspects of native Australian music with that of the heritage of the West...
, for whom he later worked as an assistant,
Richard MealeRichard Meale is one of Australia's leading instrumental composers.Meale was born in Sydney and studied piano with Winifred Burston at the NSW State Conservatorium of Music, as well as clarinet, harp, history and theory, before studying at the University of California, Los Angeles and other...
,
Sandor VeressSándor Veress was a Swiss composer of Hungarian origin. The first half of his life was spent in Hungary; the second, from 1949 until his death, in Switzerland, of which he became a citizen in the last months of his life.Veress taught at the Franz Liszt Academy in Budapest...
and Sir
Peter Maxwell DaviesSir Peter Maxwell Davies, CBE , is an English composer and conductor and is currently Master of the Queen's Music.-Biography:Davies was born in Salford, Greater Manchester. He took piano lessons and composed from an early age...
, with whom he studied in Adelaide and again in London in the early 1970s. Returning to Australia, he held teaching positions at the University of Sydney and the Sydney Conservatorium before becoming a freelance composer in 1980.
Among many awards, he considers two
KeatingPaul John Keating was the 24th Prime Minister of Australia, serving from 1991 to 1996. He came to prominence as the reformist treasurer in the Hawke government from 1983...
Fellowships received in the 1990s to have been crucial to his development. He is based in Sydney, where he lives with his wife, Helen, spending as much time as possible working in his studio in the Blue Mountains, west of the city.
Works
Ross Edwards’ output includes symphonies, concertos,
chamberChamber may refer to:*Chamber , a Marvel Comics superhero associated with the X-Men*Chamber , the portion of the barrel or firing cylinder in which the cartridge is inserted prior to being fired*A room inside a building...
and
vocal musicVocal music is a genre of music performed by one or more singers, with or without instrumental accompaniment, in which singing provides the main focus of the piece. Music which employs singing but does not feature it prominently is generally considered instrumental music Vocal music is a genre of...
, children’s music, film scores,
operaOpera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score. Opera is part of the Western classical music tradition. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
and music for
danceDance is a sport and art form that generally refers to movement of the body, usually rhythmic and to music, used as a form of expression, social interaction or presented in a spiritual or performance setting....
.
Well known compositions include his Piano Concerto (1982; premiered in 1983 by
Dennis HennigDennis Hennig was an Australian pianist.He was one of the Australian Ballet's rehearsal class pianists at an early stage of his career, and later performed live music for ballet performances such as Signatures, An Evening, Seven Deadly Sins and Nearly Beloved...
and the
Queensland Symphony OrchestraThe Queensland Symphony Orchestra is an Australian orchestra, based principally in Brisbane in the state of Queensland.The QSO played its first concert on 26 March 1947, with the orchestra consisting of 45 musicians, conducted by Percy Code. John Farnsworth Hall was recruited from the Sydney...
under
Werner Andreas AlbertWerner Andreas Albert is a renowned German conductor.He began his studies in musicology and history, and later studying conducting with Herbert von Karajan and Hans Rosbaud. After his 1961 debut with the Heidelberg Chamber Orchestra, he became chief conductor of the North West German Philharmonic...
); a violin concerto titled
Maninyas (dedicated to and premiered by
Dene OldingDene Olding is an Australian violinist. He has had a distinguished career as a soloist in Australia, New Zealand and the United States, performing over forty concertos in recent years, including many world premieres...
); and a symphony
Da pacem Domine. His Oboe Concerto, which includes choreography for the oboist-cum-dancer, was premiered in 2002 by
Diana DohertyDiana Doherty is an Australian oboist, currently Principal Oboe with the Sydney Symphony Diana was born in Brisbane, where she began her education. She attended Brisbane State High School...
under the baton of
Lorin MaazelLorin Varencove Maazel is a conductor, violinist and composer.- Early life :Maazel was born to Jewish-American parents in Neuilly-sur-Seine in France and brought up in the United States...
. Maazel invited her to play and dance it with the
New York PhilharmonicThe New York Philharmonic is a symphony orchestra based in New York City in the United States. It is one of the American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five"...
in 2005, and the concerto and Doherty have since become world-famous.
Works designed for the concert hall sometimes require special lighting, movement, costume and visual accompaniment.
External links
- Biography of Ross Edwards - maintained by the Australian Music Centre
As a national service organisation, the Australian Music Centre is dedicated to increasing the profile and sustainability of Australian composers and other creative artists...
- http://www.rossedwards.com/