Alan John (born 7 May 1958 in Sydney) is an Australian

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 def ...

. He studied music at the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD) is a public university, public research university in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in both Australia and Oceania. One of Australia's six sandstone universities, it was one of the ...

, graduating in 1980. His compositions include original music for various plays, films (such as ''

Holding the Man Holding may refer to: Film and television * ''The Holding'' (film), 2011 British film * "Holding", an episode of the American animated television series ''Beavis and Butt-Head'' * ''Holding'' (TV series), a 2022 TV series based on the book by ...

'', ''

Three Dollars ''Three Dollars'' is a 2005 Australian film directed by Robert Connolly and starring David Wenham, Sarah Wynter, and Frances O'Connor. It was based on a 1998 novel of the same name by Elliot Perlman. It won the 2005 Australian Film Institute ...

'' and '' The Bank'') and TV series (including ''

Love My Way ''Love My Way'' is an Australian television drama series created by John Edwards and Claudia Karvan, which premiered on Fox8 on 22 November 2004, before moving to W. for its second season, and Showtime for its third and final season, conclu ...

''), and the musicals '' Jonah Jones'', ''Orlando Rourke'' and ''

Snugglepot and Cuddlepie ''Snugglepot and Cuddlepie'' is a series of books written by Australians, Australian author May Gibbs. The books chronicle the adventures of the eponymous Snugglepot and Cuddlepie. The central story arc concerns Snugglepot and Cuddlepie (who ar ...

''.

Operas

His

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

'' The Eighth Wonder'' was premiered in 1995 by

Opera Australia Opera Australia is the principal opera company in Australia. Based in Sydney, New South Wales, its performance season at the Sydney Opera House accompanied by the Opera Australia Orchestra runs for approximately eight months of the year, with t ...

. It was revived in 2000, during the Sydney Olympics Arts Festival, and again in 2016. In May 2008, his chamber opera '' Through the Looking Glass'', to a libretto by

Andrew Upton Andrew Upton is an Australian playwright, screenwriter, producer and director. He has adapted the works of Gorky, Chekhov, Ibsen, and others for London's Royal National Theatre and the Sydney Theatre Company. He wrote the original play ''Rifle ...

, was premiered by the

Victorian Opera Victorian Opera is an opera company based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The company was founded in 2005 by the Victorian Government as a replacement for the Victoria State Opera. It commenced operations in January 2006 with Richard Gill a ...

at the

Malthouse Theatre Malthouse Theatre is the resident theatre company of The Malthouse building in Southbank, part of the Melbourne Arts Precinct. In the 1980s it was known as the Playbox Theatre Company and was housed in the Playbox Theatre in Melbourne's CBD ...

, Melbourne, conducted by Richard Gill. In May 2011, his opera ''How to Kill your Husband (and other handy household hints)'', to a

libretto A libretto (From the Italian word , ) 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 th ...

by Timothy Daly and based on Kathy Lette's 2007 book of the same name, premiered at the same venue under the same conductor.''How to Kill your Husband (and other handy household hints)''
at the

Awards and nominations

APRA-AGSC Awards

The annual Screen Music Awards are presented by

Australasian Performing Right Association APRA AMCOS consists of Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) and Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society (AMCOS), both copyright management organisations or copyright collectives which jointly represent over 100,000 songwri ...

(APRA) and

Australian Guild of Screen Composers The Australian Guild of Screen Composers (AGSC) is a not for profit organisation, which was established in 1981, "to represent the interests of Australian screen composers by developing and promoting employment opportunities, undertaking educationa ...

(AGSC) for television and film scores and soundtracks. , - ,

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

, , ''

Shark Net A shark net is a submerged section of gillnets placed at beaches designed to intercept large marine animals including sharks, with the aim to reduce the likelihood of shark attacks on swimmers. The gillnets form a wall of netting that hangs in t ...

'' – John , , Best Music for a Television Series or Serial , , , - ,

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

, , ''

'' – John , , Best Music for a Mini-Series or Telemovie , , , - ,

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

, , "Episode 7" – '' Dangerous'' – John, Steven Francis , , Best Music for a Mini-Series or Telemovie , ,

Helpmann Awards

The Helpmann Awards are for live performance in Australia, including theatre, musicals, opera, dance and live music. , - ,

, , ''

Mother Courage and Her Children ''Mother Courage and Her Children'' () is a play written in 1939 by the German dramatist and poet Bertolt Brecht (1898–1956), with significant contributions from Margarete Steffin. Four theatrical productions were produced in Switzerland and ...

'' , , Best Original Score , , , - ,

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

, , ''Diary of a Madman'' , , Best Original Score , , , - ,

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

, , ''The White Guard'' , , Best Original Score , ,

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:John, Alan 1958 births Living people 20th-century Australian classical composers 21st-century Australian classical composers APRA Award winners Australian film score composers Australian musical theatre composers Male musical theatre composers Australian opera composers Helpmann Award winners Australian male film score composers Australian male opera composers Musicians from Sydney University of Sydney alumni 20th-century Australian male musicians 21st-century Australian male musicians