Guide to Australian Composers
In partnership with Cameron Lam, Limelight invited readers to use its Guide to Australian Composers to explore, listen and vote for their five favourite tracks of Australian art music.
The votes are in – listen to the results!
Tracklist
- Alice Chance: Nose Scrunch Reel performed by Australian String Quartet
- Anne Cawrse: Anon from A Room of Her Own performed by Australian String Quartet
- Ariel Bonnell: Are You the New Person Drawn Towards Me? performed by Divisi Chamber Singers and Coady Green
- Ben van Tienen: Across the Dark performed by Voyces
- Brent Keogh: The Red Candle performed by Brent Keogh
- Chloé Charody: Castle in the Sky performed by Van-Anh Nguyen
- Chris Williams: (Codex) on the flight of birds performed by Simone Slattery and Anthony Albrecht (Bowerbird Collective)
- Daniel Rojas: SalTango performed by Baldini Quartet and Daniel Rojas
- Elena Kats-Chernin: Spectres in the Forest from The Witching Hour: performed by Kees Boersma, Timothy Dunin, Alex Henery, Max McBride, Kirsty McCahon, Matthew McDonald, Robert Nairn, Ciro Vigilante, Australian World Orchestra and Alexander Briger
- Ella Macens: The Space Between Stars performed by Sydney Symphony Orchestra and Jessica Cottis
- Fiona Loader: Lorikeet Corroboree performed by Ensemble Offspring
- Josh Taylor: Etude 1 performed by Josh Taylor
- Kate Reid: The Wagtail performed by Jenny Duck-Chong and Geoffrey Gartner (Halcyon)
- Katy Abbott: Glisten performed by Alex Raineri
- Linda Kouvaras: Lifeforce from Herring Island performed by Coady Green, Tiriki Onus and Roger Alsop
- Meta Cohen: we from a love is a love is a love – a queer song cycle performed by Divisi Chamber Singers and Coady Green
- Nat Bartsch: For the Koalas performed by Nat Bartsch
- Natalie Nicolas: Sunbeam performed by Matt Withers
- Nick Wales (with Stereogamous): Dead Lovers Lament performed by Andrew Blanch, Jess Green, Ben Hauptmann, Ben Panucci, Michael Sheridan & Oliver Thorpe
- Rick Alexander: Storming performed by Matt Withers and Acacia Quartet
- Sally Greenaway: The Murray And The Mountain performed by Barbara Jane Gilby, Pip Thompson, Lucy Carrigy-Ryan, Samuel Payne (Canberra Strings)
- Sally Whitwell: Yellow from Spectrum performed by Divisi Chamber Singers and Coady Green
- Sam Anning: Transitive States performed by Sam Anning and Julien Wilson
- Tristan Coelho: Forest Stories performed by Emily Granger and Andrew Blanch
- William Barton: Didge Fusion performed by William Barton and John Rodgers
Featured Composers
Alice Chance
Co-awarded the 2025 Merlyn Myer Commission, Alice Chance is a young, in-demand composer whose work has been performed by the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, the Australian String Quartet, amongst others.
Anne Cawrse
Anne Cawrse is an award winning composer of acoustic music for solo, chamber, orchestra and choir. She is based in Adelaide, South Australia.
Ariel Bonnell
Writing with passion and humour, rising composer and vocalist Ariel Bonnell has penned works for The Song Company, Gondwana Choirs, Divisi Chamber Singers and Sydney Children’s Choir.
Ben van Tienen
Ben van Tienen grew up in Tasmania playing the piano, singing in community choirs and loving community theatre. He is currently Musical Director of Cabaret in London.
Brent Keogh
Brent Keogh is a composer and multi-instrumentalist, performing on the Arabic oud, mandolin, mandola and guitar. His research interests involve intercultural composition, global music industries, and the environmentality of music production.
Chloé Charody
Chloé Charody combines classical music, circus and opera in her music. She is passionate about highlighting the plight of refugees in her work.
Chris Williams
With vocal, orchestral, theatre and chamber music engagements across the world, Chris Williams’ music takes fascination with the scientific and ecological.
Daniel Rojas
Daniel Rojas is a composer, improvisor and pianist whose work explores the ‘rich and vibrant’ folk, indigenous and popular music of Latin America.
Elena Kats-Chernin
Her works beloved internationally and at home, Elena Kats-Chernin is one of Australia’s most recognisable composers with a body of work that spans almost every genre and form.
Ella Macens
Ella Macens is quickly claiming her place as one the most accomplished composers of her generation. Drawing on elements of her Latvian heritage and love of popular and classical music, her work is known for its musical warmth, clarity and emotional immediacy.
Fiona Loader
Based in Sydney, Fiona is composer, pianist, organist and singer. As a composer, she loves writing for chamber music ensembles, choirs as well as solo and duo instrumental works.
Josh Taylor
Josh Taylor is a Melburnian musician whose undertakings span performance, composition, musicology, and education, all with a strong pianistic focus. His catalogue for solo piano spans over forty works.
Kate Reid
Kate Reid is an accomplished Sydney-based composer and pianist. With an output spanning solo, chamber, orchestral and choral works, she is drawn to ‘jazz-influenced harmonies and the beauty of a simple melody.
Katy Abbott
Composer, Artist Mentor and musical story-teller, Dr Katy Abbott illuminates and inspires the heart of us. She is forensically curious about what makes us tick and this is reflected in her work.
Linda Kouvaras
With a career spanning post-punk, electroacoustic and classical music, Linda Kouvaras is a composer, musicologist and pianist whose works have been performed more than 200 times worldwide.
Meta Cohen
Meta Cohen is a composer, sound designer and dramaturg with work spanning music, theatre and interdisciplinary art. Meta is especially passionate about bringing queer, interdisciplinary and sound-driven work to the stage.
Nat Bartsch
Nat Bartsch is an ARIA-nominated pianist, composer, producer and advocate from Melbourne, Australia. She is known for creating soothing, beautiful music that blends neoclassical composition with jazz harmony, improvisation and ethereal ambient effects.
Natalie Nicolas
Named the 2025 Layton Composing Fellow, Natalie Nicolas is a composer and lecturer whose music, centring “calm and catharsis”, has been performed by major Australian orchestras and ensembles and internationally.
Nick Wales
With recent commissions from Ballet de l’Opéra de Lyon and Sydney Dance Company, Nick Wales’ impressive discography spans classical and popular music, contemporary dance, feature films, theatre and the visual arts.
Rick Alexander
Rick Alexander is a guitarist and composer who is passionate about writing and playing music centred on classical guitar.
Sally Greenaway
Sally Greenaway’s music expresses our most intimate to grandiose experiences of the world, with a strong focus on nature, Australian landscape and the beauty in humanity.
Sally Whitwell
Sally Whitwell is an Australian composer and pianist known for her inventive performances, collaborations and recordings.
Sam Anning
Based in Melbourne, bassist-composer Sam Anning has been a major player in Australian jazz, regularly performing with jazz greats such as Andrea Keller and Paul Grabowsky.
Tristan Coelho
Tristan Coelho is an Australian composer who writes music largely inspired by the natural environment or our digital, data-driven world.
William Barton
One of Australia’s leading musical voices, William Barton is an ARIA Award-winning composer and multi-instrumentalist who has performed with major Australian and international orchestras, including the Berlin and London Philharmonics.
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