Conductor Xian Zhang has perhaps had a more difficult road than many conductors. She was born in Dandong, China, in 1973 just after the Cultural Revolution during which western music was forbidden. Named Xian, which means ‘string’—of a stringed instrument—her

The ancient Greeks used Ekphrasis as a method for training students to describe a visual object. Ekphrasis is a verbal or written description of a visual object. Down through history it has been used by artists to relate to other

One of the things that we are often unaware of is how much our first hearing of a work can influence our thoughts on that work. I don’t think I really paid attention to the music around me unless I

Why are there so many words when it comes to music? And in so many languages, like Italian, German, French, and even English! Often, one has to decipher obscure words to read the score and the musical directions, which include

I have observed a bipolarity in my musical self that reflects through my two main musical activities; improvising and composing. Both completing each other — not through their similarities towards a creative goal but rather through their differences of qualities

A 2017 post by the radio station Classic FM, sited a conversation by Reddit user r3mus3, full of puns using the names of composers, which began due to a misspelled note from his father, “The Handel is broken.” I thought,

In Part I of this article we looked at the Australian composers, Deborah Cheetham, Calvin Bowman, Katia Beaugeais, Richard Charlton, and Moya Henderson. In this part, we examine four more exceptional living Australian Composers. Cyrus Meurant Composer, violinist and keyboardist,

The story of how I came to create and record one of my most recent pieces — entitled Chapel of Silence — sprung to me as being a great illustration of how inspiration arises. Doug Thomas: Chapel of Silence I