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Monash Art Ensemble Creative Committee

MAE Artistic Director: Professor Paul Grabowsky AO

Paul Grabowsky is a pianist, composer, arranger, conductor and one Australia’s most distinguished artists. He lived and worked in Europe and the US from 1980-85, during which time he performed with many jazz luminaries including Chet Baker, Art Farmer and Johnny Griffin. Paul was musical director of Tonight Live with Steve Vizard (a nationally televised variety show) from 1990-1992 and Commissioning Editor (Arts and Entertainment) for ABC Television 1995-98.

Paul has won six ARIA awards, two Helpmann awards, several APRA and Bell Awards and a Deadly award. Paul was the Sydney Myer Performing Artist of the Year in 2000, and recipient of the Melbourne Prize for Music, 2007. He was the 2010 Australian National University H.C.Coombs Fellow.

He has written the scores for over twenty feature film scores in Australia, the UK and US. His works for the theatre include four operas and various multimedia works. Paul’s most recent opera ‘The Space Between’ premiered at Arts Centre Melbourne in September 2018.

Paul is the Founding Artistic Director of the Australian Art Orchestra, which he led from 1994-2013, the Artistic Director of the Queensland Music Festival from 2005-2007 and Artistic Director of the Adelaide Festival of Arts, 2010 and 2012. He is currently a Professor at Monash University, Director of the Monash University Academy of Performing Arts and Artistic Director of the Monash Art Ensemble. In 2014 he was made an Officer of the Order of Australia for services to music and arts administration.

MAE Chair & Producer: Associate Professor Rob Burke

Robert Burke is an Associate Professor (PhD) at Monash University. He is a composer and improvising musician, convener of jazz and improvisation and Deputy Head at the Sir Zelman Cowen School of Music Monash University.

Rob has performed and composed on over 300 CDs and has toured extensively throughout Australia, Asia, Europe, and USA over the last 30 years. He has recorded with international leaders in the field including George Lewis, Dave Douglas, Enrico Rava, Hermeto Pascoal, Kenny Werner, Mark Helias, Tony Malaby, Ben Monder, Tom Rainey, Nasheet Waites, George Garzone, Paul Grabowsky, Tony Gould, etc. Rob has received numerous Australian Council, Vic Arts Grants and DFat grants.

Rob’s research is mainly focused on practice-based artistic research. Publications include co-edited book, Perspectives on Artistic Research in Music (Lexington), and the co-written book Experimentation in Jazz: Idea Chasing, Routledge. Rob is currently president of AJIRN (Australasian Jazz and Improvisation Research Network).

MAE Manager & Producer: Dr Michael J. Kellett

Michael Kellett is an improviser, commissioned composer, sound artist, producer and artistic researcher. Based at the Sir Zelman Cowen School of Music and Performance at Monash University, his research has centred around the meshing of his experimental practices in field recording, improvisation and composition through practice-based inquiry. Michael’s current research focuses on untangling a relational understanding of improvisation and composition within his artistic practice, and has published in fields relating to Australian improvisative musicality, equity in tertiary education, and social dynamic composition.

As a producer Michael has worked for reputable arts organisations in delivering programs for the Melbourne International Jazz Festival and the Monash Art Ensemble. As an artist he has most notably recorded with Terri Lyne Carrington and Linda May Han Oh, released acousmatic albums [ Pronoia ] (2020), Argo (2024), and through-field (2024), worked as a film score composer, and is the founding member of the interdisciplinary organisation Ac-ross Land, Bet-ween Water.

Dr Paul Williamson

Trumpeter, composer and educator, Dr Paul Williamson has established a reputation for producing distinctive recordings of outstanding ensemble performances. As a leader, he’s released eleven CDs, and has performed extensively internationally and nationally with jazz greats including Carla Bley, Eddie Palmieri, Bill Carothers, Dave Liebman, Reggie Washington, Paul Wertico, Tomasz Stańko, Charlie Haden, Kenny Werner, John Abercrombie, Hermeto Pascoal, Aaron Goldberg, Django Bates, Mike Nock, Tony Gould, Nasheet Waits, Mark Helias and Linda Oh.

Dr Aura Go

Aura Go is an Australian pianist whose practice encompasses performance, collaboration, curation, education and artistic research. She performs across the globe, as soloist in concertos from J.S. Bach to Sofia Gubaidulina, as recitalist and chamber musician in programs that interweave old and new music, and as creative collaborator in the development of new music and multi-artform projects. In recent seasons, Aura has worked as concerto soloist with orchestras such as the Melbourne, Adelaide and Queensland Symphony Orchestras, Tapiola Sinfonietta, the Melbourne Chamber Orchestra and Orchestra Victoria.

Aura is an advocate for new music and regularly collaborates with composers. World premieres to her credit include works by Australian composers Lisa Illean, Holly Harrison, Gordon Kerry, Ian Munro, Kate Neal and Cat Hope, as well as Tiina Myllärinen (Finland), Christopher Cerrone (USA), Garth Neustadter (USA) and Ye Xiaogang (China).

Aura is Head of Piano at the Sir Zelman Cowen School of Music and Performance at Monash University. A passionate educator, she has been visiting artist at the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Arkansas (USA), the Royal Academy of Music in Aarhus (Denmark), the Feliks Nowowiejski Academy of Music in Bydgoszcz (Poland) and the Australian National Academy of Music.

Chelsea Wilson

Chelsea Wilson is a Melbourne based vocalist, songwriter, broadcaster, DJ and producer. An internationally acclaimed live performer she headlined the Arts Centre Melbourne stage at the Australasian World Music Expo; and made her UK debut at the iconic Glastonbury Festival. In 2023 she was nominated for the Creative Leadership Award at the Australian Women in Music Awards.

Behind the scenes Chelsea is a Festival and Events Manager, Board Director, Broadcaster and Consultant. In 2014 she established her independent music agency House of Valerie Joan, providing a range of artist and label services.

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