Featured Composer: Hugh Crosthwaite

Hugh is a freelance composer, orchestrator, producer and engineer. In the year 2004 he completed a Bachelor of Music at The University of Melbourne. He majored in composition. Hugh is inspired by a wide variety of different music. However he is particularly influenced by the classical music of the late 19th and the early 20th century as well as popular and alternative rock music. In recent years Hugh has enjoyed the opportunity to write commissions for Sarah Curro, Brian Walters SC, The Melbourne Youth Orchestra, The Royal Melbourne Philharmonic Choir and Concordis.

In addition to his work as a composer, Hugh is a lawyer and the creator of the highly publicised "The Key of Sea" charity project that brings together refugees and well known Australian artists to create new music which is recorded and sold to make money for organisations that promote human rights.

Hugh Crosthwaite's piece, Mountain Ash, was premiered in PLEXUS: We have lift off on 24 February 2014 at fortyfivedownstairs, Melbourne.

Mountain Ash (2014)

The composer writes: “Mountain Ash is inspired by the beauty of the Victorian forests that are home to the great Mountain Ash trees, but are also known as the site of much of the Black Saturday fires. The piece is my response to the diverse environments found in the mountains and the life cycle of the forest. From the trickle of water that becomes the river, to the flora and fauna that call the mountain home to the devastation and regrowth that comes from bushfire, this piece seeks to evoke a forest experience unique to the Victoria's Mountain Ash forests.”

Special thanks to Brian Walters for commissioning Mountain Ash.