Zubin Kanga (born 1982) is an Australian-born

pianist A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, ja ...

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

, and

musicologist Musicology (from Greek μουσική ''mousikē'' 'music' and -λογια ''-logia'', 'domain of study') is the scholarly analysis and research-based study of music. Musicology departments traditionally belong to the humanities, although some mu ...

based in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. He specialises in

contemporary Contemporary history, in English-language historiography, is a subset of modern history that describes the historical period from approximately 1945 to the present. Contemporary history is either a subset of the late modern period, or it is o ...

and

experimental music Experimental music is a general label for any music or music genre that pushes existing boundaries and genre definitions. Experimental compositional practice is defined broadly by exploratory sensibilities radically opposed to, and questioning of, ...

Early life and education

Kanga was born in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

and attended

Sydney Grammar School (Praise be to God) , established = , type = Independent, day school , gender = Boys , religious_affiliation = None , slogan = , headmaster = R. B. Malpass , founder = Laurence Hynes Halloran , chairman = ...

until 2000. He graduated from 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 ...

in 2006 before moving to

in 2007, where he is still resident. Kanga studied under

Rolf Hind Rolf Hind (born 1964 in London) is a British pianist and composer. He studied at the Royal College of Music in London and at the University of California, Los Angeles. Biography Rolf Hind was born in London to a German mother and an English fa ...

and attended the

Royal Academy of Music The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is the oldest conservatoire in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the first Duke of ...

, receiving an MMus in 2009 and a PhD in 2014.

Career

Kanga has been an active chamber musician since joining Australian contemporary music group

Ensemble Offspring Ensemble Offspring is an Australian music ensemble. The group is led by artistic director Claire Edwardes, and features some of Australia's most innovative performers. The group has toured to locations such as Hong Kong, London and Warsaw, are r ...

in 2005 at the age of 22, of which he remains a member. He played with the Marsyas Trio between 2017 and 2018, during which time they recorded ''In the Theatre of Air'', an album of music by women composers for piano, flute, and cello. It reached #7 in the Specialist Classical Charts and was named on Sequenza21's "Best Chamber Music CDs of 2018". Notable solo performances of Kanga's include Beat Furrer's concerto for two pianos ''Nuun'' with

and the

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 ...

at the

Queen Elizabeth Hall The Queen Elizabeth Hall (QEH) is a music venue on the South Bank in London, England, that hosts classical, jazz, and avant-garde music, talks and dance performances. It was opened in 1967, with a concert conducted by Benjamin Britten. The ...

in January 2011 and Thomas Adès's ''Concerto Conciso'' at the Elisabeth Murdoch Hall in 2013, when he also appeared alongside the composer in a two-piano arrangement of Conlon Nancarrow's ''Studies Nos. 6 and 7''. Kanga frequently commissions pieces that combine the piano with electronics and interactive media, including Patrick Nunn's ''Morphosis'' for piano, motion sensors and live electronics (premiered at

Cheltenham Music Festival The Cheltenham Music Festival is a British music festival, held annually in Cheltenham in the summer months (June, July) since 1945. The festival is renowned for premieres of contemporary music, hosting over 250 music premieres as of July 200 ...

), Laura Bowler's ''SHOW(ti)M''E for speaking pianist, MiMU gloves, live video and live electronics (premiered at

Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival The Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival (also known by the acronym HCMF, stylised since 2006 as the lowercase hcmf//) is a new music festival held annually in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England. Since its foundation in 1978, it has featured ...

) and Luke Nickel's ''hhiiddeenn vvoorrttiicceess'' for piano, five Soundbrenner haptic metronomes, video and electronics (premiered at Submerge Festival, Manchester). His own compositional output has included ''Dead Leaves'', which he premiered on

ABC Classic ABC Classic, formerly ABC-FM (also ABC Fine Music), and then ABC Classic FM, is an Australian classical music radio station available in Australia and internationally. Its website features classical music news, features and listening guides. I ...

radio in 2017, and was selected to represent Australia at the 2018

International Rostrum of Composers The International Rostrum of Composers (IRC) is an annual forum organized by the International Music Council that offers broadcasting representatives the opportunity to exchange and publicize pieces of contemporary classical music. It is funded by c ...

. Kanga appeared at

in 2018 with his programme ''Wikipiano'', named after a commissioned piece by

Alexander Schubert Alexander Schubert (born 13 July 1979) is a German composer. Much of his music is experimental, involving multimedia, improvisatory, and interactive elements. He draws upon free jazz, techno, and pop styles. Biography Alexander Schubert was born ...

, ''WIKI-PIANO.NET''. The score is derived from a web page which members of the public can edit by adding text, directions, notation, images, and

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

videos. In the same year, Kanga premiered Brett Dean's ''Rooms of Elsinore'' at the Extended Play new music marathon alongside his own composition ''Spider Web Castle''. Kanga has performed several times at London Contemporary Music Festival, premiering Michael Finnissy's ''Hammerklavier – Part 1'' and Alwynne Pritchard's ''Heart of Glass'', as well as performing his realisation of Julius Eastman's ''Gay Guerrilla'' at London Contemporary Music Festival alongside

Hind A hind is a female deer, especially a red deer. Places * Hind (Sasanian province, 262-484) * Hind and al-Hind, a Persian and Arabic name for the Indian subcontinent * Hind (crater), a lunar impact crater * 1897 Hind, an asteroid Military ...

, Siwan Rhys, and Eliza McCarthy, which was later featured (uncredited) in video installation ''The Third Part of the Third Measure''. Kanga has received international critical acclaim since being awarded "Best Newcomer" in the 2010 ABC

Limelight Awards The Limelight Awards were an annual celebration of the performances, recordings and music personalities in Australian classical music. Sponsored by the monthly classical arts magazine '' Limelight'', they were the only publicly voted awards of thei ...

. His

Melbourne Festival Melbourne International Arts Festival, formerly Spoleto Festival Melbourne – Festival of the Three Worlds, then Melbourne International Festival of the Arts, becoming commonly known as Melbourne Festival, was a major international arts festi ...

performance of John Cage's ''Sonatas and Interludes'' was described in ''

The Age ''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...

'' as "a blaze of retrospective creative brilliance", while his 2019 Australian tour ''Piano Ex Machina'' was described by ''Limelight'' magazine as "a rewarding experience, rich in possibility, infused with curiosity and playfulness, and not afraid to explore conceptual and expressive horizons well beyond the boundaries of a traditional piano recital". He premiered a major new piano and multimedia work by

Philip Venables Philip Venables (born 1979) is a British composer best known for his operatic and theatrical works with themes of sexuality, violence and politics. Life and career Born in Chester, Venables studied at Jesus College, Cambridge and the Royal ...

, ''Answer Machine Tape, 1987'' in 2022, exploring the life of New York artist

David Wojnarowicz David Michael Wojnarowicz ( (September 14, 1954 – July 22, 1992) was an American painter, photographer, writer, filmmaker, performance artist, songwriter/recording artist, and AIDS activist prominent in the East Village art scene. He incorp ...

using a KeyScanner by the Augmented Instruments Laboratory to allow the piano to type text live onto the screen. He toured it to Time of Music Festival,

November Music November Music is an annual international festival of contemporary music in the Netherlands on various locations in 's-Hertogenbosch. Its motto is 'Today's Music by Today's Makers'. The ten-day festival is held in the first half of November. It ...

, and

. He appears as an extra alongside

Ben Whishaw Benjamin John Whishaw (born 14 October 1980) is an English actor and producer. After winning a British Independent Film Award for his performance in ''My Brother Tom'' (2001), he was nominated for an Olivier Award for his portrayal of the titl ...

in Mark Bradshaw's short film ''O Holy Ghost'' (2019).

Research

Kanga's research concerns the collaborative process between composer and performer, as well as technological interactions in new music. From 2014 to 2015, he was a postdoctoral researcher at The

University of Nice Sophia Antipolis The University of Nice Sophia Antipolis (french: Université Nice Sophia Antipolis) was a university located in Nice, France and neighboring areas. It was founded in 1965 and was organized in eight faculties, two autonomous institutes and an eng ...

as part of the GEMME (Music and Gesture) project in partnership with

IRCAM IRCAM (French: ''Ircam, '', English: Institute for Research and Coordination in Acoustics/Music) is a French institute dedicated to the research of music and sound, especially in the fields of avant garde and electro-acoustical art music. It is ...

. He was made an Honorary Research Fellow of the

in 2014, an

Institute of Musical Research The Institute of Musical Research is a research institution associated with the University of London. Formerly a member of the School of Advanced Study, it is since 2015 affiliated to Royal Holloway, University of London. Its focus is the facilit ...

Early Career Associate from 2014 to 2015, and an Honorary Research Associate of

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 ...

in 2017. He is currently a research fellow at

Royal Holloway, University of London Royal Holloway, University of London (RHUL), formally incorporated as Royal Holloway and Bedford New College, is a public research university and a constituent college of the federal University of London. It has six schools, 21 academic departm ...

, being awarded a

Leverhulme Research Fellowship The Leverhulme Trust () is a large national grant-making organisation in the United Kingdom. It was established in 1925 under the will of the 1st Viscount Leverhulme (1851–1925), with the instruction that its resources should be used to suppo ...

in 2017 and a

UK Research and Innovation UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) is a non-departmental public body of the Government of the United Kingdom that directs research and innovation funding, funded through the science budget of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Str ...

Future Leaders Fellowship in 202

Select discography

* 2014: ''Not Music Yet'' (HHCD06140743
Hospital Hill
. * 2015: ''Orfordness: Music by David Gorton'' (MSV 2855
Divine Art Records
. * 2015: ''Piano Inside Out'' (MD 3391, Move Records, Move). * 2015: ''Chiaroscuro: modern works for soprano and piano'' (PR000
Phosphor Records
with Jane Sheldon. * 2016: ''Patrick Nunn: Morphosis'' (RSR003CD

. * 2018: '' In the Theatre of Air'' (NMC D248,

NMC Recordings NMC Recordings is a British recording label and a charity which specialises in recording works by living composers from the British Isles. History The composer Colin Matthews founded NMC in 1989, with financial assistance from the Holst Found ...

) with the Marsyas Trio.

Awards

AIR Awards

The Australian Independent Record Awards (commonly known informally as

AIR Awards The Australian Independent Record Awards (commonly known informally as AIR Awards) is an annual awards night to recognise, promote and celebrate the success of Australia's Independent Music sector. History The inaugural 2006 awards were held at ...

) is an annual awards night to recognise, promote and celebrate the success of Australia's Independent Music sector. , - ,

AIR Awards of 2015 The AIR Awards of 2015 (or Carlton Dry Independent Music Awards of 2015) is the tenth annual Australian Independent Record Labels Association Music Awards (generally known as the AIR Awards) and was an award ceremony at The Meat Market, North Me ...

, ''Piano Inside Out'' , Best Independent Classical Album , , -

Publications

Kanga, Zubin
"Through the Screen: The Collaborative Creation of Works for Piano and Video"
''Contemporary Music Review'', Vol 35, No. 4, 2016: 423–449. Kanga, Zubin and Alexander Schubert
"Gesture, Technology and the New Discipline: Conversations with Alexander Schubert"
''Contemporary Music Review'', Vol 35, No. 4, 2016: 375–378. Kanga, Zubin
‘“Building an instrument” in the collaborative composition and performance of works for piano and live electronics’
in ''Perspectives on Artistic Research'', ed. Robert Burke and Andrys Osman (Washington DC: Lexington, 2016). Gorton, David and Zubin Kanga
“Risky Business: negotiating virtuosity in the collaborative creation of Orfordness for solo piano”
in ''Music and/as Process'', ed. Lauren Redhead and Vanessa Hawes (Cambridge:Cambridge Scholars, 2016). Callis, Sarah, Neil Heyde, Zubin Kanga and Olivia Sham
“Creative Resistance as a Performative Tool”
''Music and Practice'', vol. 2, 2015. Kanga, Zubin
“Not Music Yet: Graphic Notation as a Catalyst for Collaborative Metamorphosis”
''Eras Journal'', vol. 16, no.1, 2014: 37–58. Ratcliffe, Robert, Jon Weinel and Zubin Kanga
“Mutations (megamix): Exploring Notions of the ‘DJ set’, ‘Mashup’ and ‘Remix’ through Live Piano-based Performance”
''eContact!'', Canadian Electroacoustic Community, 2011.

References

External links

*
The editable score of ''wiki piano.net''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kanga, Zubin 1982 births Living people Australian expatriates in England Australian male composers Musicians from Sydney 21st-century composers Australian pianists 21st-century Australian male musicians 21st-century Australian musicians Alumni of the Royal Academy of Music Australian composers Australian musicologists Male pianists UK Research and Innovation Future Leaders Fellowship