Composer, Writer & Broadcaster
Andrew Ford’s vocal works are among his best known, and several of them have won awards, notably Learning to Howl, which won the prestigious Paul Lowin Prize in 2004.
Please click work titles for more information and resources (audio, sheet music, program note etc.) about individual works in this category.
Text: Judith Nangala Crispin
mezzo-soprano, narrator, clarinet in A (= bass clarinet), oboe (= cor anglais), percussion, harmonium, harp, viola and laptop
Commissioned by Music Viva Australia
Text: J.M Coetzee, based on an episode from his novel Elizabeth Costello
Commissioned by the McLaren Vale Music Festival Association for the Coriole Music Festival
First performance by Elizabeth Campbell (mezzo-soprano) and Celia Craig (oboe), directed by Mitchell Butel, Coriole Music Festival, Coriole Vineyards, McLaren Vale, South Australia, 21 May 2022
This is a work in progress. Each song has words by a different Australian poet. Individual songs have different and variable instrumentation.
* Commissioned by Kim Williams AM + Commissioned by Opera Queensland for its Young Artists Program # Commissioned by the Bowral Autumn Music Festival
Text: poems by Jen Hadfield, R.S. Thomas, Robert Adamson, Maria Takolander, Tomas Tranströmer, Robin Robertson, Maija Konttinen, Edward Thomas and W.B. Yeats
flute (= piccolo), percussion (tabla, crotales, wind chimes and temple block), guitar and cello
N.B. the percussion part is written for an improvising tabla player, though it can be played on other hand drums
Commissioned for Halcyon (Sydney), Haga Duo with Karin Lovelius and Suranjana Ghosh (Stockholm), Lina Andonovska and Crash Ensemble (Dublin) and Elisabeth Holmertz and Poul Høxbro (Oslo), with financial assistance from the Australia Council of the Arts, the Australian Government's arts funding and advisory body.
First performance by Karin Lovelius (mezzo-soprano), Sareidah Hildebrand (flute), Suranjana Ghosh (percussion), Joakim Lundström (guitar), Mattias Rodrick (cello), Norrtullskyrkan, Söderhamn, Sweden, 5 September 2019
A song from the cycle Nature
Text: R.S. Thomas
A song from the cycle Nature
Text: Jen Hadfield
Text: Anne Carson
soprano, metal percussion
Commissioned by Julian Burnside AO QC for Jane Sheldon and Claire Edwardes
First performance by Jane Sheldon and Claire Edwardes, Port Fair Spring Music Festival, Reardon Theatre, Port Fairy, 13 October 2018
Text: poems by Adrian Henri, Brian Patten and Roger McGough
flute (= piccolo), clarinet in B flat, bass clarinet, alto sax, 2 trumpets, 2 trombones, vibes, drum kit, piano, electric guitar, violin, double bass
Commissioned by the Monash Art Ensemble
First performance by Gian Slater, Monash Art Ensemble directed by Paul Grabowsky (piano), Sir Zelman Cowen School of Music, Monash University, Melbourne, 13 October 2017
Text: Andrew Ford
Commissioned by Ian Munro, Roy Howat, Joel Sachs and Aura Go, with the support of a project grant from the Music Funds of the Australia Council for the Arts
First performance by Ian Munro (piano), Andrew Ford (speaker), Arts in the Valley Festival, Kangaroo Valley, NSW, 6 May 2017
Text: Arthur Taylor, from his Gallipoli diary
First performance by David Greco (baritone), David Shaw (piccolo), Leanne Sullivan (trumpet), James Huntingford (piano), conducted by Roland Peelman, Canberra International Music Festival, National Library of Australia, Canberra, 8 May 2015