Houston Dunleavy

Ulster-born Houston Dunleavy is a freelance composer and conductor, and is currently a freelance composer, conductor, actor, and stand-up comedian. He has been Academic Director of The Australian Guild of Music Education, Head of Composition and Production at the Australian Institute of Music, Musical Director of the Sydney Male Choir, Adjunct Follow at the Australian National University in Canberra, and was formerly Senior Lecturer in Composition, and Acting Had of the School of Music and Drama at the University of Wollongong.

His teachers have included Peter Tahourdin, Barry Conyngham, Donald Erb, David Felder and Charles Wuorinen.

Houston has been Guest Artist at The American University in Washington D.C., Visiting Composer at James Madison University, The Cleveland Institute of Music, Ball State University, the University of Florida, Georgia State University and The University of Southern Florida, The University of Melbourne, Tasmanian Conservatorium of Music and The Royal Academy of Music, Dublin, Ireland. He has conducted, and had performances of his music, in Australia, the USA, the UK, Ireland, Bulgaria, Hungary, Sweden, France, China, and Puerto Rico, Japan, Thailand, Singapore, Taiwan and Canada.

His music has been performed by major concerts artists such as Beverley Rinaldi, soprano, Alan Baer (principal tuba of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra), Kevin Orr, Michael Kieran Harvey, David Goldblatt, Stephen Manes, Haydeé Schwarz and Duncan Gifford, pianists, Adam Meyer, trombone, Susan Collins, violin, Harold Levin and Brett Deubner, viola, Peter Sheridan, Lisa-Marie Amos, Bill Dowdall, Melanie Walters and Lisa Osmialowski, flutes, ensembles such as The Manes Duo, Syzrgy, The Kingfisher Trio, Kammer, Locana, The Bugallo-Williams Duo, Grevillea and Charisma.

His viola concerto, "A Kiss Before The World's End" was nominated for a Latin Grammy in 2019, and won the Best Classical Work for that year in Costa Rica. It will received its European premier in Spain, in December, 2021. His latest works, "Glocken" for solo piano, and "3 Portraits: a concerto for Euphonium and Brass Band, will be premiered in 2022.

His compositional interests include music for orchestra, the theatre (including dance and opera), the voice and the church, the combination of electro-acoustic and acoustic resources especially in real time (such
as in his "' series of works), the exploration of virtuosity (Gondwanaland a concerto for tuba and symphonic winds) and indigenous Australian music (the Earth Music series).

His music is released on the “Wirripang”, "Wayfarer", and “Move” labels.

http://www.houstondunleavy.com

e-mail: houston@houstondunleavy.com

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