Thomas Fitzgerald (composer) - Composer and Musical Director

Composer and Musical Director

Australian projects include Composer and Musical Director for The Opening Ceremony, Melbourne International Festival of Arts, and creating music and sound design for major Television Advertising Commercials. As director of One Earth Orchestra, Thomas has brought together an exciting new Australian music ensemble of eighteen (plus) musicians, that workshop and perform the new works of International and Australian composers, such as Steve Reich, Stephen Ingham, David Baker, Keith Humble, Peter Sculthorpe and Thomas Fitzgerald. The expressive style blends contemporary electric sounds, orchestral and tribal textures, frequently incorporating improvisation within scored sections of material, spoken word, and collaboration with multimedia artists.

Thomas composed the music for Chika, a documentary performance created by Mayu Kanamori. The ABC Radio National program of Chika was a finalist in the Radio Feature, Documentary or Broadcast Special category of the 2004 Walkley Awards for Excellence in Journalism.

Thomas was awarded the ABC Radio Arts/Australia Council New Media Artist in residence for 2005 and a Peggy Glanville Hicks Composer Fellowship. Shower Songs - Canaries in the Mineshafts, a radiophonic musical composition created during the composer's residency premiered on ABC Radio National networks on December, 2005. In 2007, he was appointed a trustee of The Peggy Glanville-Hicks Composers' House.

And the Music Caught Fire: The Rebirth of Irish Music - 'The Awakening' and 'The Roaring Tiger', two programs exploring the renaissance of Irish Music presented by Thomas Fitzgerald and Siobhan McHugh were broadcast in March 2007 on ABC Radio National.

Thomas Fitzgerald's recent project, The Peacesong Tapestries, was broadcast on SBS Radio World View. The 23 week program culminated with a concert, which showcased the songs of peace created for the program as part of the Harmony Day 2008 celebrations in Sydney.

  • Works (selected)
    • Sonic Code
    • Endless Flight
    • Fast Travel
    • Blues for the Avant Garde
    • Double rainbow
    • Reconciliation Symphony
    • Heliotrope
  • Multimedia performance
    • The Heart of the journey
    • CHIKA
    • Counter memory and The Irish Linen Memorial
    • Avalanche
  • Film / TV
    • Snapshot
    • Stanley
    • The Good Cook (1997)
    • Turtle World (1996)
    • Pa (2001)
    • Wildscreen (1996)
  • Opera / Theatre
    • The Three Tenants
    • Child Support - 110 Bed Nights
    • Midsummer Nights Dream
  • Festivals
    • River Spectacular - Melbourne Moomba Festival
    • Channel 7 Christmas Concert with the City of Melbourne
    • Lighting up Flinders Street Station - Opening Night Ceremony for Melbourne International Festival of Arts
  • Radio
    • Patrick White
    • Shower Songs - Canaries in the Mineshafts
    • And the Music Caught Fire: The Rebirth of Irish Music
    • Chika
    • The Peace Song Tapestries
  • Recordings
    • 'CHIKA' soundtrack {Thomas Fitzgerald 2008} Thomas Fitzgerald (Violin/Keyboards), Satsuki Odamura (Koto), Anne Norman (Shakuhachi), Toshinori Sakamoto (Taiko Drums)
    • Spirit {Thomas Fitzgerald 1997} One Earth Orchestra
    • Short cuts : Chitter chatter (Thomas Fitzgerald 2003)
    • Platypus Dreaming {Thomas Fitzgerald producer}
    • String of Pearls : Deborah Conway : Tom Fitzgerald—violin
    • Wave : Rosie Westbrook : Tom Fitzgerald—violin
    • peter schaefer ensemble : Tom Fitzgerald—violin / string quartet leader
    • Heliotrope : Geoff Pressing : Tom Fitzgerald—Soundtracks and Music
    • Billy Miller Victoria : Tom Fitzgerald—violin
  • Grants & Awards
    • Pa - Best Original Music Award, 2002 Sienna International Festival. Best short film at Venice Film Festival 2002
    • Midsummer Nights Dream - Melbourne Theatre Critics Award for Best Musical Composition & Direction.
    • Turtle World - Film score nominated for an Academy Award in 1999
    • Chika - The ABC Radio National program of “Chika” was a finalist in the Radio Feature, Documentary or Broadcast Special category of the 2004 Walkley Awards for **Excellence in Journalism.
    • ABC Radio Arts/Australia Council New Media Artist-in-Residence for 2005
    • Peggy Glanville Hicks Composer Fellowship 2005

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