John Rodgers (born 1962) is a

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...

-based Australian composer, improviser, violinist, pianist and guitarist.

Early life

Rodgers was born in North Queensland and spent his early years there.

Education

Rodgers was awarded the 1983 Vada Jefferies Prize Griffith University Queensland Conservatorium of Music. He graduated with a Bachelor of Music from the Queensland Conservatorium of Music in 1984.

Career

Rodgers had an early background in classical music. He played with the Australian Youth Orchestra in 1980 -1982 (Violin 1) and in 1983-1984 (Violin) was leader. During this time they performed in Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney, Perth and in 1984 undertook a tour of European Festivals. He played with the Queensland Theatre Orchestra, and the Hunter Orchestra. With these and other orchestras, he toured Europe and Asia, often appearing as a soloist on violin. Rodgers chose not to follow the path that led to a career in classical music, instead forming controversial sex-and-death cult rock band Madam Bones Brothel with

Pearly Black Pearly Black (born February 1967) is an Australian singer. Her performance style varies widely, performing with several ensembles in different genres and in short-run shows. She is perhaps best known for collaborations with avant-garde composer ...

and together they released a CD ''Family of Abjects'' in 1994. He later played improvised music in ensembles such as The John Rodgers Trio and Artisan's Workshop early 1990s. Rodgers has been a contributor to the Australian Art Orchestra and was its Associate Artistic Director in 2005. He has worked with the New York performance artist Penny Arcade (

Vienna Festival __NOTOC__ The Wiener Festwochen (Vienna Festival) is a cultural festival in Vienna that takes place every year for five or six weeks in May and June. The Wiener Festwochen was established in 1951, when Vienna was still occupied by the four Alli ...

1997), the

Robyn Archer Robyn Archer, AO, CdOAL (born 1948) is an Australian singer, writer, stage director, artistic director, and public advocate of the arts, in Australia and internationally. Life Archer was born Robyn Smith in Prospect, South Australia. She b ...

band and many of Australia's leading musicians and artists. He has performed solo concerts in the Adelaide Festival and the Melbourne Summer Music Festival. Rodgers has produced many works in fields including music theatre and new media. He has performed and recorded with the Antripodean Collective over a number of years. In 2011 John Shand in the Sydney Morning Herald said of the collective, " tstands in the forefront of the world's improvisers ... shared harmonic and rhythmic conceptions and vocabularies ... For the listener, the upshot is moments of stunning confluence materialising from nowhere and an intriguing dichotomy between the intellectual and the aesthetic, the conceptual and the visceral." In 2012 he performed at the Powerhouse in ''Dangling my Tootsies'' a show featuring the "songs and sites of cabaret legend Agnes Bernelle", He has performed with number of artists both on recordings and live including William Barton on ''Birdsong at Dusk CD)'' '','' Kate Miller-Heidke at the Powerhouse and Resonance Festival (2012) where he composed and performed ''Hear me, and Remember.'' From 2012 to 2014 he was with Metro Arts Work in Residence Programme where he composed, ''Madame Carandini’s Travelling Musical Curiosity Show, described as'' "a gothic new music theatre work".

Reviews

In a series of three concerts, Life and Music (2013) at the University of Queensland, Rodger was described as, " prolific and eclectic composer, arranger and improviser ... His work has spanned classical, jazz, pop, world, experimental and improvisational music" Rodgers was the musical director for QTC production ''Elizabeth, almost by chance a woman'' where Flloyd Kennedy's review said, "John Rodgers provides a witty, eclectic mixture of musical motifs from Renaissance tunes to modern pop."

Creative output

Works composed by Rodgers include: * ''Carolling'' (1998) for Perehelion *''

The Sunshine Club ''The Sunshine Club'' is an Australian musical with book and lyrics by Wesley Enoch and music by John Rodgers. Synopsis Set in Brisbane, the story concerns Frank Doyle, an Aboriginal serviceman who has come home from World War II to find that ...

'' (1999) with

Wesley Enoch Wesley James Enoch (born 1969) is an Australian playwright and artistic director. He is especially known for ''The 7 Stages of Grieving'', co-written with Deborah Mailman. He was artistic director of the Queensland Theatre Company from mid-2 ...

for the

Queensland Theatre Company Queensland Theatre, formerly the Queensland Theatre Company and Royal Queensland Theatre Company, is a professional theatre company based in Brisbane, Australia. It regularly performs in its own Bille Browne Theatre and the Queensland Performi ...

*''Moras'' for the

Australian Art Orchestra The Australian Art Orchestra (AAO) is one of Australia's leading contemporary ensembles. Founded by pianist Paul Grabowsky in 1994, it has been led by composer/trumpeter/sound artist Peter Knight since 2013 and led by pianist/composer/producer A ...

and the Sruthi Laya ensemble *''Places in Hell'' (2000) for

ELISION Ensemble The ELISION Ensemble (often referred to as simply ELISION) is a chamber ensemble specialising in contemporary classical music, concentrating on the creation and presentation of new works. The ensemble comprises a core of around 20 virtuoso musici ...

*''Inferno'' (2000) for

and Adelaide Festival and Brisbane Festival * ''The Garden of Deep Despair'' (2001) for the Australian Chamber Orchestra and the Gondwana Voices *''Violinist Extraordinaire John Rodgers'' (2001) *''The Mizler Society'' (2002) with Anthony Burr for Australian Arts Orchestra *''Bobcat Dancing'' (2003) for Queensland Biennial Festival of Music *''Ratbags'' (2004) for The Arterial Group and

Opera Queensland Opera Queensland is an opera company based in Brisbane, Queensland. The company was founded with funding from the Queensland State Government in 1981 under the name ''Lyric Opera of Queensland'' after the Queensland Opera Company was closed in ...

*''The Ultimate Prize: a John Rodgers Retrospective'' (2004) for Brisbane Cabaret Festival *''TULP: The Body Public'' with Justine Cooper for

at the Sydney and Brisbane Festivals *''Bobcat Magic!'' (2005) for Queensland Music Festival *''Exit the King'' (2007) for Belvoir Theatre *''Weavers of Fiction (''2008) artist

Genevieve Lacey Genevieve Lacey (born 1972) is an Australian musician and recorder virtuoso, working as a performer, creator, curator and cultural leader. The practice of listening is central to her works, which are created collaboratively with artists from ar ...

co-composer, works for recorder *''The Pink Twins'' (2009'')'' QPAC and Brisbane Music Festival'' '' *''Where the Heart Is'' (2010) Expressions Dance Company *Glass (2010) for Scott Tinkler with

London Sinfonietta The London Sinfonietta is an English contemporary chamber orchestra founded in 1968 and based in London. The ensemble has headquarters at Kings Place and is Resident Orchestra at the Southbank Centre. Since its inaugural concert in 1968—givi ...

, Adelaide International Festival *''Little Birung'' (2012) stage performance with Megan Sarmardin

CD Releases

Cd's released by Rodgers alone /with others ''Family of Abjects'' (1994) with Pearly Black T''he Dream Catchers'' (2007) ''A Rose is a Rose'' (2007) All tracks bar 3,5,7 composed by John Rodgers. Funding by the

Australia Council The Australia Council for the Arts, commonly known as the Australia Council, is the country's official arts council, serving as an arts funding and advisory body for the Government of Australia. The council was announced in 1967 as the Austr ...

. ''Funcall'' (2008) by the Antripodean Collective ''The Massacre of the Egos'' (2008) by the Antripodean Collective ''NTRPDN'' (2010) by the Antripodean Collective ''The Uncaring Wind (''2010) ''Past on my Sleeve'' (2011)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rodgers, John Australian male composers Australian composers Australian classical musicians Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University alumni Living people 1962 births