James Ledger (born 1966) is an Australian composer of

contemporary classical music Contemporary classical music is classical music composed close to the present day. At the beginning of the 21st century, it commonly referred to the post-1945 modern forms of post-tonal music after the death of Anton Webern, and included se ...

, and senior lecturer in composition at the Conservatorium of Music at the University of Western Australia, where he is chair of orchestral composition.

Biography

Ledger first rose to prominence with his first orchestral composition ''Indian Pacific'' in 1996, which is still regularly performed in Australia. Ledger is also known for his compositions ''Devils in the Underground'' for solo trumpet, the

violin concerto A violin concerto is a concerto for solo violin (occasionally, two or more violins) and instrumental ensemble (customarily orchestra). Such works have been written since the Baroque music, Baroque period, when the solo concerto form was first dev ...

''Golden Years'', ''Chronicles'' for orchestra, '' War Music'' for choir and orchestra, and the

song cycle A song cycle (german: Liederkreis or Liederzyklus) is a group, or cycle, of individually complete songs designed to be performed in a sequence as a unit.Susan Youens, ''Grove online'' The songs are either for solo voice or an ensemble, or rarel ...

'' Conversations with Ghosts'' in collaboration with the musician Paul Kelly, for which he won an

ARIA In music, an aria ( Italian: ; plural: ''arie'' , or ''arias'' in common usage, diminutive form arietta , plural ariette, or in English simply air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrumental or orchestral accompa ...

award. From 2007 to 2009 he was the

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 ...

for the West Australian Symphony Orchestra. In 2011 he was named composer-in-residence for the

Australian National Academy of Music The Australian National Academy of Music (ANAM) is a classical music performance training facility situated in Melbourne. History ANAM was established in 1994, as part of prime minister Paul Keating's "Creative Nation" initiative. On 23 Oct ...

. In

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

Ledger won the

ARIA Award for Best Classical Album The ARIA Music Award for Best Classical Album, is an award presented within the Fine Arts Awards at the annual ARIA Music Awards. The ARIA Awards recognise "the many achievements of Aussie artists across all music genres", and have been given ...

for ''

Thirteen Ways to Look at Birds ''Thirteen Ways to Look at Birds'' is a studio album by Australian musicians Paul Kelly, and James Ledger featuring Alice Keath and Seraphim Trio . The album was released on 30 August 2019 and peaked at number 43 on the ARIA Charts. The albums ...

'', another collaboration with Paul Kelly. In 2020, he earned a Doctorate of Music from the

University of Western Australia The University of Western Australia (UWA) is a public research university in the Australian state of Western Australia. The university's main campus is in Perth, the state capital, with a secondary campus in Albany, Western Australia, Albany an ...

. His Viola Concerto, premiered by

Brett Dean Brett Dean (born 23 October 1961) is an Australian composer, violist and conductor. Biography Brett Dean was born, raised and educated in Brisbane. He started learning violin at the age of eight, and later studied viola with Elizabeth Morgan a ...

and the West Australian Symphony Orchestra, won the

APRA AMCOS 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 songwr ...

Art Music award in the "Work of the Year – Large Ensemble" category.

Awards and nominations

ARIA Music Awards

The ARIA Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of

Australian music The music of Australia has an extensive history made of music societies. Indigenous Australian music forms a significant part of the unique heritage of a 40,000- to 60,000-year history which produced the iconic didgeridoo. Contemporary fusions o ...

. ! , - ,

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment ...

, '' Conversations with Ghosts'' (with Paul Kelly,

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 a ...

& ANAM Musicians) , Best Original Soundtrack/Cast/ Show Album , , , - ,

, ''

'' (with Paul Kelly) ,

Best Classical Album The Grammy Award for Best Classical Album was awarded from 1962 to 2011. The award had several minor name changes: *From 1962 to 1963, 1965 to 1972 and 1974 to 1976 the award was known as Album of the Year – Classical *In 1964 and 1977 it wa ...

, , , -

APRA AMCOS Awards and nominations

* 2006 Best Performance of an Australian Composition (Nominee) – WASO performing James Ledger, ''Line Drawing'' *

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing ...

Orchestral Work of the Year (Nominee), James Ledger, Trumpet Concerto * 2011 Work of the Year – Instrumental (Winner), James Ledger, ''Chronicles'' *

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

Performance of the Year (Winner), James Ledger, ''Two Memorials'' performed by WASO *

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

, Work of the Year, Orchestral (Nominee), James Ledger, ''Golden Years'' *

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in ...

, Work of the Year, Large Ensemble (Winner), James Ledger, Viola Concerto

Works

Orchestra

* ''Indian Pacific'' (1996) * ''Peeling'' (2004) for strings and percussion * ''Habits of Creaters'' (2004) * Horn Concerto (2005) * ''Line Drawing'' (2005) for recorder and strings * Trumpet Concerto (2007) * ''The Madness and Death of King Ludwig'' (2007) for large ensemble of brass, percussion, and double basses * ''Arcs and Planes'' (2009) * ''Chronicles'' (2009) * ''Neon'' (2010) version for orchestra and chamber ensemble * ''Outposts'' (2011) bassoon concerto (for

Matthew Wilkie Matthew Wilkie is an Australian classical bassoonist. He is Principal Bassoon with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe (COE) and Principal Emeritus Bassoon with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra. He has made a substantial number of recordings, notably wi ...

) * ''Two Memorials (for

Anton Webern Anton Friedrich Wilhelm von Webern (3 December 188315 September 1945), better known as Anton Webern (), was an Austrian composer and conductor whose music was among the most radical of its milieu in its sheer concision, even aphorism, and ste ...

and

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...

)'' (2011) * ''Golden Years'' (2013) concerto for violin and orchestra * ''News, Weather and Dreams'' (2014) * '' War Music'' (2015) * ''Simpler Times'' (2015) *''The Natural Church'' (2016) for chamber orchestra *''Hollow Kings'' (2016) *''The Natural Order of Things'' (2017) for strings * Viola Concerto (2019) concerto for viola and orchestra

Chamber ensemble

* ''Abandoned Drive-in'' (2002) for mixed ensemble * ''Mean Ol' World'' (2004) for mixed ensemble * ''Two Fanfares'' (2005) for brass ensemble * ''Inscriptions (2006) for piano trio * ''Bell Weather'' (2008) for mixed ensemble * ''Rashomon Confessions'' (2009) for clarinet and string quartet * ''Processions'' (2011) for string quartet * ''In Orbit'' (2011) for mixed ensemble * ''Silver Swans'' (2012) for mixed ensemble * ''Igor's Drum'' (2013) for mixed ensemble * ''When Chaplin Met Einstein'' (2014) for mixed ensemble * ''House of Stairs'' (2014) for piano quartet *''The Distortion Mirror'' (2018) for string quartet and live electronics

Solo

* ''Devils on the Underground'' (2010) for trumpet and live electronics * '"Quickening'' (2010) for vibraphone and live electronics * ''All Hail the Machine'' (2011) for bass clarinet and live electronics * ''See How They Run'' (2012) for violin and portable audio player * ''Blood Water Wine'' (2013) for cello *''Chant'' (2017) for double bass *''Intended Inventions'' (2018) for piano

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ledger, James Living people 1966 births ARIA Award winners APRA Award winners Musicians from Perth, Western Australia Australian male classical composers 21st-century classical composers Place of birth missing (living people) University of Western Australia faculty 21st-century Australian male musicians 21st-century Australian musicians