Composers

Thomas McConochie

After completing a doctorate in philosophy at the University of New South Wales in 2017, Thomas completed an Associate in Music, Australia (AMusA) diploma, majoring in horn performance, through the Australian Music Examinations Board. In addition to foundational composition lessons from his high school music teacher, Estelle Huxley, Thomas has also received advice and guidance from professional composers such as Jim Cotter (ANU), Andrew Schultz (UNSW) and Daniel Rojas (USyd).
Thomas composes music in styles ranging from modern classical, to jazz, and world music. His pedagogical music for horn, such as Two Horn Sonatinas and Two Jazz Pieces for Low Horn, has been well received by teachers, students, and professionals world-wide.
Thomas’ Balinese-Western fusion music has impressed performers and audiences. In 2017, the North Sydney Symphony Orchestra commissioned Thomas to compose an original work for the orchestra’s gala concert that year. The resulting work, Starry Night Over Ubud, combines Balinese musical style and form with Western orchestral conventions. In 2018, Thomas composed an original work for the Suara Jaya Balinese Gamelan Ensemble at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. His composition, Gilak Mas [Golden Gilak], is an innovative piece of modern gamelan music based on older gamelan musical forms. Elements of classicism such as balance, symmetry, restraint, clear and elegant development of musical ideas, etc., are present in much of Thomas’ music, including his Balinese music.

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