Curriculum Vitae
Christopher
Healey is a composer of music for modern hearts and minds. Solo music to
full-bodied orchestral scores. One-minute miniatures to 80-minute operas.
Transfixingly tender to disturbingly macabre. Modern listeners are
multi-dimensional and emotionally complex; contemporary art music should be the
same.
Melbourne-based composer Christopher Healey holds a Bachelor of Music (Composition), Honours (Class I) from the University of Queensland. He has studied with renowned Australian composers Gerard Brophy and Robert Davidson. From 2018-2019, he also undertook further composition studies with the eminent American composer, Daron Hagen. He has also received mentoring from Australian composers, Carl Vine, Christopher Gordon and Holly Harrison, as well as American composers, Nico Muhly, Christopher Cerrone, and Missy Mazzoli.
In 2019, he was selected as a participant in the Australian Youth Orchestra's "Words About Music Program" with Phillip Sametz. Christopher has also completed his PhD in Composition (Title: ‘Exploring Metaxis: An exploration of Metamodern and Wabi Sabi aesthetics and philosophies in a folio of original compositions.’).
Christopher Healey's music is eclectic in style, atmospheric and evocative, from the transfixingly tender to the disturbingly macabre. He strives to create an emotionally and intellectually meaningful journey for his listeners, engaging and challenging them by combining the warmth of lyrical melodies with extended harmonies, contemporary textures and unusual musical forms. His catalogue comprises over 90 diverse works, including instrumental and vocal compositions, choral music, full-bodied orchestral scores, a set of miniatures, and a chamber opera.
He has received commissions from eminent musicians and arts organisations in Australia, China, France, Holland, and the USA, including Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (Cybec), Omega Ensemble, 4MBS Classic FM, Camerata - Queensland's Chamber Orchestra, the BRON Saxophone Quartet, Divisi Chamber Singers, BoB-Best of Brass, Ensemble Francaix, Ensemble Fabrique, and the Nickson Quartet. Christopher has also received prizes including the Alan Lane Award, A.G. Francis Prize, 2nd Place in the Arcadia Winds Composition Competition, 2nd Place in the ANZVS Composition Competition, and the Australian Postgraduate Award.
In 2020, Christopher’s horn quintet, Idyll of a Sea Voyager was premiered in China by members of horn section of the Zhejiang Symphony Orchestra, led by Dr Armin Terzer. The performance was televised by Zhejiang Guangxi Live. In the same year, his Fugue of Confinement was premiered in Melbourne by Daniel Tan (violin) and Luke Severn (cello), and his Sonata for Trumpet and Piano was premiered in Sydney by Phillip O’Neill (trumpet) and Ingrid Sakurovs (piano). In 2021, Christopher’s works included compositions for Rockhampton Symphony Orchestra, Bendigo Symphony Orchestra and the Black Square String Quartet.
Current commissions and premieres include works for Duo Piaggio (Adam McMillan & Kyla Matsuura-Miller), Organist Calvin Bowman, Divisi Chamber Singers with Ensemble Ancien, and the Victorian Band League (Mooney Valley Brass)
Other links:
www.isoconcerto.com
www.facebook.com/ChrisHealeyMusic
www.youtube.com/AustralianComposer
Education
2015 – 2021: University of Queensland
PhD Music Composition
Supervisors: Dr. Robert Davidson and Dr. Liam Viney
2018 - 2019: Private student of American composer Daron Hagen
2019: Australian Youth Orchestra
Words About Music Program with Phillip Sametz
2017: Queensland Sympony Orchestra
Composer's Orchestral Reading Sesssion
2016: Queensland Sympony Orchestra
Composer's Orchestral Reading Sesssion
2013 – 2014: University of Queensland
Bachelor of Music (Composition), Honours (Class I)
Supervisor: Dr. Robert Davidson.
2008-2011: Griffith University, Queensland Conservatorium
Bachelor of Music (Composition)
Recent Performances
Please Note: I have not been very dilligent about keeping track of performances. There are many performances not included below.
Circe (for String Quartet)
Performed by Flinders Quartet
@Tempo Rubato, 20th July, 2022.
Cloud Painting
Performed by Duo Piaggio
for "Tempo Queer Festival"
@Tempo Rubato, 20th July, 2022.
Concerto for Isolated
Musicians – 30’
Performers (soloists) have
included: Ash Carter (Trombone – QSO), Ellie Harrison (Viola), Brijette Tubb
(Piccolo Flute), Armin Terzer (French Horn), Andrew Doyle (Clarinet).
Online. 2020
Idyll of a Sea Voyager –
Horn Quintet
Performed by Horn Section of the Zhejiang Symphony Orchestra.
Premiered on Television in Zhejiang, China. 2020.
Fugue of Confinement
Performed by Daniel Tan (violin) and Luke Severn (Cello).
Panoramic Music (Live Stream). June, 2020.
Birches for Solo Wind Instrument
Performed by Brian Schappals (clarinet), Jefimija Šipka (bassoon), Michael Thrum (bass clarinet) &
Solomon Alber (saxophone).
Online, August-September 2020.
Sonata for Trumpet and Piano
Performed by Phillip O’Neill (trumpet) and Ingrid Sakurovs (piano).
Live stream. December, 2020.
Leviathan for Soprano, Flute
& Pre-record – 15’
Performed by Amber Evans & Simone Maurer
Manhattan School of Music, NYC.
2019.
Capriccioso Bellicoso – Brass Quintet Concerto
Performed by BoB – Best of Brass & Rockhampton Symphony Orchestra
Rockhampton, QLD, Australia. 2019.
Swoon Scene from The Haunted
House (Film) – 2’30”
Performed by Wintergreen Music Festival Musicians
Wintergreen, Virginia. 2019.
Macabre Machine – 12’
Performed by the Nickson Quartet
Queensland International Chamber Music Competition. 2019.
Walt Whitman Suite – 25’
Performed by Amber Evans and Adam McMillan
Tempo Rubato, Victoria. 2019.
The Long Day’s Journey Into
Dusk – 15’
Performed by Andrew Baird, Luke
Severn & Adam McMillan
Tempo Rubato, Victoria, 2019.
Sonata for Cello & Piano
No. 2 – 19’
Performed by Luke Severn & Adam McMillan
Tempo Rubato, Victoria, 2019.
Awards and Prizes
Flinders Quartet Ascend Program 2022:
One of three selected composers in national call for scores from established Australian composers.
Melbourne Symphony Orchestra - Cybec 2022/3:
One of four composers under 35 commissioned as the result of a national call for scores.
Omega Ensemble - CoLab Career Accelerator 2022:
One of five composers chosen from a national call for scores.
2nd
Place: Arcadia Winds Composition Competition. 2019.
Australian Postgraduate Award: University of Queensland. 2015– 2018.
2nd Place: Australia and NZ Viola Society Composition Competition. 2017.
Dean’s Award for Academic Excellence: University of Queensland. 2014.
2nd Place: Sydney Eisteddfod Composition Prize (Open division). 2013.
Alan Lane Award for Composition: Queensland Conservatorium.
A.G. Francis Prize for Composition: Queensland Conservatorium.
Music Teacher’s Association of Queensland – Audio-Visual Award
Publications
2019 - Rachmaninoff's Second Piano Concerto:Programme Notes
commissioned and published by the Australian Youth Orchestra
2019 - Don Juan: Programme Notes
published by the Australian Youth Orchestra
2019 - Schnelzer’s 'A Freak in Burbank'
Programme Notes
published by the Australian Youth Orchestra
2019 - Melody Eötvös:In Profile
broadcast by ABC Classic FM
2019 - On Falla
An Introduction to De Falla’s 'Three Cornered Hat' (Podcast)
published by the Australian Youth Orchestra
Encountering the Inexplicable
A Composer's Meditation on Music's Mystery
published by
CutCommon
2018 - Why Compose?
published in print and distributed by CutCommon
2017 - Contemporary Music
Baby Don't Hurt Me No More
published by
Cut Common
2014 - Teaching and Learning Composition
The Trick of Finding Your Own Way
published on The Australian Music Centre's 'Resonate' Blog.
