Team “Neon” getting into the spirit of this “urban and muscular” music by Tansy Davies!
Zac Johnston, Robin Henry, Emily Clarke, Thea Rossen, Jacob Abela, Katherine Philp, and Miranda Hill braving the heat, while raising the temperature in the rehearsal room!
Peter Wilson is an ex-dancer turned composer, based in London. After graduating from The Australian Ballet School with distinction in 2010, he made a sideways shuffle into music: eventually winning a full scholarship to the Royal College of Music. He now works in a variety of mediums, primarily composing music for concert hall, theatre, film, and dance.
As a composer for concert hall, Peter has worked with the Royal Northern Sinfonia, Loré Lixenberg, Ligeti Quartet, Norrbotten NEO, Tom Paewels, and Gildas Quartet. His music has been recorded and released by NMC Recordings.He was described recently as “having a willingness to engage in small, strange details” – a diagnosis Peter quite enjoyed.
As a composer for theatre, his work has been heard in many of London’s major theatres, including Soho Theatre, RADA, The Bunker, and VAULT Theatre. In 2017, he was nominated for an Off-West End Award (‘Offie’) for his work on ‘FCUK’D’. More recently, he has worked at The National Theatre and Donmar Warehouse, assisting composer Michael Bruce.
A few months ago, Peter’s world exploded when he plunged into the infinite whirlpool of electronic music. This is a new area of interest for Peter, and he intends to explore it more thoroughly over the coming months and years.
Emily is a woodwind musician and music educator based in Melbourne. As a graduate of Melbourne Conservatorium of Music and Melbourne Graduate School of Education she teaches and performs on saxophone, clarinet, and flute, passionate about sharing excellent music experiences with diverse audiences. As a saxophone specialist Emily performs with the Melbourne Saxophone Ensemble and The Green Reeds, and in various styles from big bands to orchestra settings as a freelance musician. Most recently Emily has been collaborating with composers for chamber music premiers, with Melbourne Saxophone and in various saxophone quartets. Emily is a passionate woodwind doubler, performing in music theatre productions locally in Melbourne, has travelled Victoria with Sondheim company Watch This and extensively through China touring the production of Phantom Unmasked.
Thea Rossen is an exciting and dynamic percussionist. She is celebrated for her solo and chamber recitals and has attracted worldwide attention for her Music for our Changing Climate, a powerful performance exploring issues surrounding climate change developed with her ensemble the Ad Lib Collective throughout a residency at Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, Canada.
As a soloist and chamber musician, Thea was a fellow at the Bang on a Can Summer Festival and a finalist for the Freedman Classical Music Fellowship in 2018. Thea has presented works at the Melbourne Recital Centre’s Metropolis Festival, Peninsula Summer Music Festival and was presented by Play On as a featured artist in their sixth series. She is also a casual member of the percussion sections of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and Orchestra Victoria. Most recently, Thea presented the premiere of The Milk Carton Confessions at Extended Play Festival in Sydney, a new solo show written by composer Michael Sollis.
As an educator Thea has written and facilitated shows and workshops for the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Melbourne Recital Centre and Art Play, she has guest lectured at the Melbourne University and tours regularly with Water Water Everywhere for Music Viva in Schools.
During her time at the Australian National Academy of Music, Thea was awarded prizes for all of her solo recitals including Most Outstanding Performance and Best Program. Thea received her Bachelor of Music Degree with honours at the University of Western Australia studying with Dr Louise Devenish and Tim White.
Homophonic! is supported by the City of Melbourne Arts Grants Program, and assisted by the Australian Government through the Australia Council, it’s arts funding and advisory body.