Listen to Olivia’s original composition submitted with his entry.
Hi! My name is Olivia Bryant, and I’m an 18-year-old emerging composer from Ipswich, Queensland.
Like most musicians, I was introduced to music at a young age, taking up piano lessons when I was 9 years old. A year later I was given a trombone and fell in love with playing from the jazz genre.
My dedication to music throughout high school led me to participate in the State Honours Ensemble Program (QLD) (2017-2021) and the Artology Fanfare Competition in 2021. I graduated from West Moreton Anglican College in 2021 with QCE subject prizes in Music and Music Extension (Composition) as well as the Performing Arts Prize for being in several music ensembles and composing two works for our Senior Chorale and Symphonic Winds.
I am so grateful for these amazing opportunities provided by my wonderful high school teachers and mentors, as they helped me secure a place at Sydney Conservatorium of Music.
Only halfway through my 1st year of a Bachelor of Music (Composition for Creative Industries), I’ve already had the chance to workshop music with Sydney University Symphony Orchestra (SUSO) and become a member Spectra Jazz Orchestra under the direction of Ellen Kirkwood.
I have met so many amazing people and grown so much as a composer in 2022, and I look forward to more of this through Artology’s Fanfare and To Country programs!
COMPOSITION INSPIRATION:
I grew up on Yuggera, Yuggera and Ugarapu Country in Queensland.
It was on their land that I was housed and taught, and where I met a beautiful mentor of mine. She told me so many rich stories from her childhood and teachings from her elders past and present.
She took me for a walk around my school campus one day. She asked me to ponder questions of “what was” and “what if?”.
“What happened on this land?”
“Why are these trees here, and what could they have been in the past?”
“What could they have seen?”
I loved these ideas so much; This sense that the land moves, ages and breathes with us all. It’s what connects all land; what connects us all.
I used this in creating my To Country piece, Alive.
Email: info@artology.org.au
Postal Address: PO Box 1115, Edgecliff 2027
We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the lands on which our events and activities are held. We recognise and respect the enduring connection to land, waters and culture. They were the first storytellers. We pay our respects to Elders, past and present, and acknowledge that sovereignty was never ceded.
