Ross Edwards (composer)

Ross Edwards (born 23 December 1943) is an Australian composer 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 Sydney. After completing secondary education at Sydney Grammar School he received his early musical education at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, Sydney Campus, completing his Master of Music degree at the University of Adelaide and graduating as Doctor of Music from the University of Sydney. His teachers have included Peter Sculthorpe, for whom he later worked as an assistant, Richard Meale, Sándor Veress and Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, 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 Keating 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.

Ross Edwards’ output includes symphonies, concertos, chamber and vocal music, children’s music, film scores, opera and music for dance.

Well known compositions include his Piano Concerto (1982; premiered in 1983 by Dennis Hennig and the Queensland Symphony Orchestra under Werner Andreas Albert); a violin concerto titled Maninyas (dedicated to and premiered by Dene Olding); and a symphony Da pacem Domine (dedicated to the memory of Stuart Challender). His Oboe Concerto, which includes choreography for the oboist-cum-dancer, was premiered in 2002 by Diana Doherty under the baton of Lorin Maazel. Maazel invited her to play and dance it with the New York Philharmonic in 2005, and the concerto and Doherty have since become world-famous.

His Concerto for Guitar and Strings (2004) was first recorded by Karin Schaupp.

Works designed for the concert hall sometimes require special lighting, movement, costume and visual accompaniment.

In 2009, ABC Classic FM conducted a listener survey of favourite symphonies entitled Classic 100 Symphony. Australian composers were voted in three positions of the top 100; Edwards' Symphony No. 1 Da pacem Domine was placed at number 67.

In 2011, ABC Classic FM conducted a listener survey of favourite work of the 20th century entitled Classic 100 Twentieth Century. Australian composers were voted in eight positions of the top 100; Two of Edwards' works appeared: Violin Concerto Maninyas (number 45) and Dawn Mantras (number 49).

APRA-AMC Art Music Awards

The APRA-AMC Art Music Awards (previously Classical Music Awards) are presented annually by Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) and Australian Music Centre (AMC) since 2002. They "honour the achievements of composers, performers and industry specialists in the contemporary classical genre."