Mary Finsterer (born 25 August 1962) is an Australian composer and academic.

Life

Finsterer was born in

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

in 1962; her siblings are the actors

Anni Finsterer Anni Finsterer is an Australian actress. For her performance in ''3 Acts of Murder'' she won the 2009 Australian Film Institute Award for Best Guest or Supporting Actress in Television Drama. Career Finsterer has had significant roles in ...

and

Jack Finsterer Jack Finsterer (born 1968) is an Australian film and TV actor. He has been acting since the age of 25 and has appeared in some of Australia's best-known TV shows. He is also a film actor who has participated in 43 Television Series and Films fr ...

. She graduated in 1987 with a

Bachelor of Music Bachelor of Music (BM or BMus) is an academic degree awarded by a college, university, or conservatory upon completion of a program of study in music. In the United States, it is a professional degree, and the majority of work consists of prescr ...

degree from the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb nor ...

. A recipient of the Royal Netherlands Government Award in 1993, she continued her studies in Amsterdam with

Louis Andriessen Louis Joseph Andriessen (; 6 June 1939 – 1 July 2021) was a Dutch composer, pianist and academic teacher. Considered the most influential Dutch composer of his generation, he was a central proponent of The Hague school of composition. Although ...

, then returned to Australia and studied with

Brenton Broadstock Brenton Thomas Broadstock (born 1952) is an Australian composer. He was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia on Australia Day in 2014 for "significant service to music as a composer, educator and mentor". Biography Broadstock was b ...

, completing a Master of Music degree in 1995 at the University of Melbourne. She completed a

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common Academic degree, degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields ...

degree in 2003. In 2006 she received a Churchill Fellowship for her continuing work in multimedia. Finsterer is married to the photographer Dean Golja."What Happens Next: Meeting Mary Finsterer"
by Andrew Ford, ''

The Monthly ''The Monthly'' is an Australian national magazine of politics, society and the arts, which is published eleven times per year on a monthly basis except the December/January issue. Founded in 2005, it is published by Melbourne property developer ...

'', October 2011 Since 2007 Finsterer has completed a body of work that includes ''In Praise of Darkness'', a major orchestral work for the Dutch ensemble ASKO│Schönberg in association with Tura Music, a violin duo for soloists Natsuko Yoshimoto and James Cuddeford, a string quartet for the

Goldner String Quartet The Goldner String Quartet is an Australian string quartet formed in 1995 in honour of Richard Goldner, the founder of Musica Viva Australia. The Quartet consists of Dene Olding and Dimity Hall (violins), Irina Morozova (viola; an ex-pupil of ...

, a chamber work for the Sydney Soloists, and a number of works for her 2009 composer-in-residence position at the Campbelltown Performing Arts Centre. Her orchestral fanfare ''Afmaeli'' was the opening piece for the 70th birthday celebrations of composer Louis Andriessen at the

Holland Festival The Holland Festival () is the oldest and largest performing arts festival in the Netherlands. It takes place every June in Amsterdam. It comprises theatre, music, opera and modern dance. In recent years, multimedia, visual arts, film and archite ...

in 2009. In the same year Finsterer was the winner of the Paul Lowin Orchestral Prize for her new work ''In Praise of Darkness''. Finsterer has taught music and composition at

Duquesne University Duquesne University of the Holy Spirit ( or ; Duquesne University or Duquesne) is a private Catholic research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Founded by members of the Congregation of the Holy Spirit, Duquesne first opened as the Pittsbu ...

in Pittsburgh, the

University of Montreal A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...

in Canada, the

University of Wollongong The University of Wollongong (abbreviated as UOW) is an Australian public research university located in the coastal city of Wollongong, New South Wales, approximately 80 kilometres south of Sydney. As of 2017, the university had an enrolment of ...

, the

Victorian College of the Arts The Victorian College of the Arts (VCA) is the arts school at the University of Melbourne in Australia. It is part of the university's Faculty of Fine Arts and Music. It is located near the Melbourne city centre on the Southbank campus of the ...

, the

Sydney Conservatorium of Music The Sydney Conservatorium of Music (formerly the New South Wales State Conservatorium of Music and known by the moniker "The Con") is a heritage-listed music school in Macquarie Street, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is one of the old ...

, the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...

and the

Australian Film, Television and Radio School The Australian Film Television and Radio School (AFTRS) formerly Australian Film and Television School, is Australia's national screen arts and broadcast school. The school is a Commonwealth Government statutory authority. History Establishe ...

where she became an honorary

research fellow A research fellow is an academic research position at a university or a similar research institution, usually for academic staff or faculty members. A research fellow may act either as an independent investigator or under the supervision of a pr ...

in 2009. Finsterer is a Vice-Chancellor's Professorial Fellow at

Monash University Monash University () is a public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Named for prominent World War I general Sir John Monash, it was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the state. The university has a ...

and in July 2014 she was announced as the inaugural Chamber Music Australia Chair of Composition at Monash University to teach there until 2017. She currently teaches as

University of Tasmania The University of Tasmania (UTAS) is a public research university, primarily located in Tasmania, Australia. Founded in 1890, it is Australia's fourth oldest university. Christ College, one of the university's residential colleges, first pro ...

whilst working on a new opera. Her works have been performed internationally. Finsterer has composed for films and electroacoustic events for the

Music Biennale Zagreb Music Biennale Zagreb ( hr, Muzički biennale Zagreb, MBZ) is an international festival of contemporary music in Zagreb, Croatia, organized by the Croatian Composers' Society. The Biennale, founded by Milko Kelemen and held every spring of the odd ...

Nouvel Ensemble Moderne Nouvel Ensemble Moderne (NEM), based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, is one of the world's premier chamber orchestras specializing in contemporary classical music. It was founded in 1989 by Lorraine Vaillancourt, who serves as the ensemble's conducto ...

Ensemble intercontemporain The Ensemble intercontemporain (EIC) is a French music ensemble, based in Paris, that is dedicated to contemporary music. Pierre Boulez founded the EIC in 1976 for this purpose, the first permanent organization of its type in the world. Organi ...

, and

Ictus Ensemble ICTUS is a Belgian orchestra, founded by in 1994, specialising in contemporary classical music. It is based in Brussels where it is involved in frequent collaborations with the contemporary dance choreographer Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker. The o ...

for performances in Lille and Brussels. She worked as an

orchestrator Orchestration is the study or practice of writing music for an orchestra (or, more loosely, for any musical ensemble, such as a concert band) or of adapting music composed for another medium for an orchestra. Also called "instrumentation", orch ...

on the 2007 film '' Die Hard 4.0''. Her film music for the 2010 feature film ''

South Solitary ''South Solitary'' is a 2010 Australian romance film set on South Solitary Island and directed by Shirley Barrett. Plot Meredith Appleton (Miranda Otto) arrives on South Solitary island with her elderly uncle George Wadsworth (Barry Otto). Her ...

'' received a

Film Critics Circle of Australia The Film Critics Circle of Australia (FCCA) is an association of cinema critics and reviewers. It includes journalists in "media, television, major national and state papers, radio, national and state, online and freelance writers, Australian ...

nomination in 2010, and has since been released on the CD label

ABC Classics ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

. Her first

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

, ''Biographica'', to a

libretto A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the t ...

by Tom Wright, about the life of

Gerolamo Cardano Gerolamo Cardano (; also Girolamo or Geronimo; french: link=no, Jérôme Cardan; la, Hieronymus Cardanus; 24 September 1501– 21 September 1576) was an Italian polymath, whose interests and proficiencies ranged through those of mathematician, ...

, premiered in January 2017 at the

Sydney Festival Sydney Festival is a major arts festival in Australia's largest city, Sydney that runs for three weeks every January, since it was established in 1977. The festival program features in excess of 100 events from local and international artists an ...

with the

Sydney Chamber Opera Sydney Chamber Opera is an opera company based in Sydney, Australia. It is a resident company at Carriageworks. The company was founded in 2010 by Louis Garrick and Jack Symonds. Its first production was in February 2011 and has since produced ...

at the

Carriageworks Carriageworks is a multi-arts urban cultural precinct located at the former Eveleigh Railway Workshops in Redfern, Sydney, Australia. Carriageworks showcases contemporary art and performing arts, as well as being used for filming, festivals, fa ...

. Her second opera, ''Antarctica'', also to a libretto by Wright, was first performed at

Muziekgebouw aan 't IJ Muziekgebouw aan 't IJ (English language, English: "Music Building on the IJ") is the main concert hall for contemporary classical music on the IJ (Amsterdam), IJ in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The building opened in 2005 and is located above the IJt ...

in Amsterdam for the Holland Festival 2022 in a co-production with

.''Antarctica''
home page
''Anttacrtica'' production details

;

Honors and awards

*"Let's Celebrate Oz Music" ABC Award 1989 * Albert H. Maggs Composition Award 1990 for ''Catch'' *Le Nouvel Ensemble Moderne's Forum 91 *Paris Rostrum Prize, 1992 *Music Lives!, Pittsburgh, 1992 *

Composer-in-residence Artist-in-residence, or artist residencies, encompass a wide spectrum of artistic programs which involve a collaboration between artists and hosting organisations, institutions, or communities. They are programs which provide artists with space a ...

with

Sydney Symphony Orchestra The Sydney Symphony Orchestra (SSO) is an Australian symphony orchestra that was initially formed in 1908. Since its opening in 1973, the Sydney Opera House has been its home concert hall. Simone Young is the orchestra's chief conductor and firs ...

, 1992 *Royal Netherlands Government Award 1993 *

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 Austra ...

Composer Fellowship, 1998 *

Churchill Fellowship Winston Churchill Memorial Trusts (WCMT) are three independent but related living memorials to Sir Winston Churchill, based in the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand. They exist for the purpose of administering Churchill Fellowships, a ...

2006 for work in the film industry *Paul Lowin Orchestral Prize 2009 for ''In Praise of Darkness'' * APRA, AMCOS Art Music Award for Vocal Work 2018 for ''Biographica''

Works

Selected works include: * ''Ruisselant'' (1991) * ''Catch'' (1992) * ''Nextwave Fanfare'' (1992) * ''Omaggio Alla Pieta'' (1992) * ''Tract'', for cello (1993) * ''Constans'' (1995) * ''Nyx'' (1996) * ''Ether'' (1998) * ''Achos'' (1999) * ''Kurz'' (2000) * ''Pascal's Sphere'' (2000) * ''Sequi'' (2001) * ''Sleep'' (2002) * ''Afmaeli'' (2009) * ''In Praise of Darkness'' (2009) * ''Ionia'' (2009) * ''

'' (2010), film score (released on CD ''South Solitary'' by ABC Classics) * ''Antea'' (2012) * ''Falling'' (2012) * ''Silva'' (2012) * ''Aerea'' (2013) * ''Lake Ice: Missed Tales No. 1 (2013)'' for

double bass The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or #Terminology, by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched Bow (music), bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox addit ...

and orchestra * ''Biographica'' (2017), opera * ''Antarctica'' (2022), opera

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Finsterer, Mary 1962 births Living people 20th-century classical composers APRA Award winners Australian film score composers Australian music educators Australian women classical composers Australian women film score composers People from Canberra University of Melbourne alumni Winners of the Albert H. Maggs Composition Award Women music educators 20th-century women composers

Life

Honors and awards

Works

References

Further reading

External links