Featured Collaborator: Connor D'Netto
Connor D'Netto (b. 1994) is a composer of contemporary classical music, described as "the model contemporary Australian composer" by ABC Classic FM.
Throughout his works, Connor balances the quasi-neoclassical with post-minimal influences, combining them with contemporary performance practices, unique one-off concerts and performances, and the delicate incorporation of electronic music elements and production techniques. His music combines driving post-minimal rhythmic elements with heartfelt lyrical expression drawn from his extensive performance experience as a classically trained bass baritone, contrasted with textural devices that push the expectations of an instrument’s capabilities without confronting the audience. Connor’s music has been commissioned and performed across Australia and abroad, including commissions from ensembles such the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, the Australian String Quartet, the prolific New-York based new music organisation Bang On A Can, and performers such as Katie Noonan, Karin Schaupp and Claire Edwards.
In 2017, Connor was selected as a fellow of Bang On A Can. As part, his music was featured at Bang On A Can's Summer Music Festival at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Arts (MASS MoCA) in July, having travelled to the USA to take part in a three-week residency with the ensemble.
In 2015, Connor was named winner of Chamber Music Australia’s Australian New Works Award. His winning work, String Quartet No. 2 in E minor, became the set work for the 7th Melbourne International Chamber Music Competition and received premieres by three internationally chosen finalist ensembles at the Melbourne Recital Centre. He has also been awarded a Brisbane Arts and Cultural Innovation Award 2017 for his contribution to the Arts, the Percy Brier Memorial Composition Prize 2016 for his Texture No. 1 for Orchestra, and the Donald Tugby Musicology Prize and Scholarship 2015 by the University of Queensland for exceptional contribution to the field of music research.
Connor is the artistic director, producer, and co-founder of the successful contemporary classical music concert series and collective Argo. Founded in 2015, Argo creates immersive art music experiences bending the boundaries of genre and artform, combining contemporary classical music with electronic music, live-visuals, and fostering creative collaborations between artists of various mediums. Its focus is on creating experiential and concept driven events that fuse classical instruments and ensembles with contemporary influences and new modes of musical expression.
To find out more about Argo, head to www.argosound.com . . .
As a performer, Connor is a trained classical bass, having previously studied with Shaun Brown. Connor is also a talented photographer, videographer and visual-artist, creating and shooting not only material for his music, but also for a number of other local artists and musicians.
Currently Connor is based in London where is he studying his Masters of Music at the Royal College of Music. He is a Tait Trust Scholar at the Royal College of Music, and his studies are further supported with a Churchie Foundation Scholarship. Connor is also concurrently working on his PhD through the University of Queensland, where he completed a Bachelor of Music (Honours) graduating with First-Class Honours in 2016.
For further information, please visit connordnetto.com