Professor Rick Chew

Position: Director
Study area: Arts Academy
Location: Camp Street Campus, Room C010
Phone: 5327 8026
Email: r.chew@federation.edu.au
ORCID ID: 0000-0001-6226-8887

Qualifications

PhD – Communication Studies, University of South Australia, 2014

M.Mus (RCM) Performance Studies, Royal College of Music London, 1991

ARCM (PG) Classical Singing, Royal College of Music London, 1991

B.Mus (Hons) University of Birmingham, 1987

Biography

Professor Richard Chew is an acclaimed composer and pianist, whose output includes orchestral and instrumental works, chamber, opera, choral and music for theatre and film.

Richard studied at the University of Birmingham and the International Opera School, Royal College of Music in London, where he was awarded the President's Rose Bowl, by H.M. The Queen Mother. He studied singing with Margreet Honig in Amsterdam and advanced composition with Louis Andriessen and Peter Sculthorpe at Dartington.

Richard made his professional debut as a singer with the Royal Shakespeare Company in Marlowe's Dr Faustus (Swan Theatre, Stratford Upon Avon and Barbican, London). He specialised in contemporary music and opera, singing principal baritone roles with English National Opera, Opera North, Opera Factory, Music Theatre London, London Sinfonietta, Second Stride, Richard Alston Dance Company and many others.

Career highlights include a Schumann lieder recital at the National Portrait Gallery for BBC Radio 3, Arion (Arion and the Dolphin; an opera by Alec Roth and Vikram Seth) ENO and Singapore, Sam, in Bernstein’s Trouble in Tahiti (City of London Sinfonia, Barbican- conducted by Marin Alsop), Papageno, in Mozart’s The Magic Flute (Opera Factory, Queen Elizabeth Hall London, Birmingham Symphony Hall), Dad, in Mark Anthony Turnage’s Greek (QEH, Cité de la Musique Paris, BBC Radio 3 broadcast), Inspector Grayling/Keeper of the Books (Misper, an opera by John Lunn - Glyndebourne), Juan, in the world premiere of Mark Anthony Turnage’s Country of the Blind (ENO, London Symphony Orchestra, 50th Aldeburgh Festival), Affair Man, in Caryl Churchill and Orlando Gough’s opera Hotel (The Place, London and Hannover) and Webb (Coming Through Slaughter, Mike Westbrook, QEH London, RNCM Manchester, BBC Radio 3 broadcast).
As a composer, Richard’s commissions include works for the Adelaide Festival, Adelaide Cabaret Festival, RIAus, Vienna Festival, English National Opera, Welsh National Opera, Festival of Arts and Ideas (Newhaven USA), Lindsay Quartet, Southbank Centre London, Young Vic Theatre Company, Bath International Music Festival, Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, Three Choirs Festival, St John’s Waterloo Festival, Salisbury Cathedral and Wonderful Beast.

Richard established the London-based vocal ensemble The Shout with fellow composer Orlando Gough and was music director for the group from 1999 – 2003. The Shout recorded two albums and toured widely in the UK, Europe and the USA. Described by The Times as ‘a blueprint for 21st century choral singing’, the group won a number of awards and worked with some of the most renowned artists in Europe, including Rufus Norris, current Artistic Director if the National Theatre, London and Alain Platel (Because I Sing, Art Angel, Roundhouse, London, Channel 4).

Richard received his PhD from the University of South Australia and taught as a lecturer in music and drama at UniSA, Elder Conservatorium of Music, University of Adelaide and the Arts Academy, Federation University, as Senior Lecturer, Associate Professor in Performing Arts and programme coordinator, Music Theatre, prior to his appointment as Director in 2018.

As a pianist/composer, he has given concerts for Recitals Australia, Jazz SA and his narrative piano composition The Last of England premiered at the Art Gallery of Ballarat as the opening event in the Australian Historical Society’s annual conference in 2016. Richard subsequently recorded this work, funded by Creative Victoria. Recent performances include Variations, with music theatre artist Zoy Frangos at Bunjil Place and Hamer Hall, Southbank, Melbourne.

In 2018, Richard conducted the London premiere of his oratorio Stari Most at St John’s church Waterloo, in aid of The Sentry, a human rights charity founded by John Prendergast and George Clooney. Stari Most tells the story of the iconic Old Bridge of Mostar, in Bosnia Herzegovina, that was destroyed in 1993 during the Bosnian War. Originally commissioned for the 750th Anniversary of Salisbury Cathedral, this work has also been performed at Her Majesty’s Theatre in Adelaide and in Ballarat, where it featured in a special Concert for Compassion, featuring guest artist Lior in 2019. https://federation.edu.au/news/articles/the-concert-for-compassion

Richard has contributed original music for two award-winning documentaries, The Missing and Harbour Lights, for Wind & Sky Productions. His fanfare for orchestra, Flight, was commissioned by Federation University Australia and is now the official academic processional music at graduation ceremonies.

Current projects include a series of new chamber works for the Inscape Piano Trio, featuring international concert violinist Dunja Lavrova and Melbourne-based cellist, Dr Lachlan Dent.

Richard’s music is published by Wirripang and he is an Associate Artist with the Australian Music Centre. www.richardchewmusic.com

Areas of expertise

Richard’s research is currently focused on his practice as a composer of instrumental, solo vocal and choral music, opera and music theatre. As Arts Academy Director, he has encouraged the making and presentation of new Australian work as a key component of the undergraduate and honours curriculum in performing and creative arts, collaborating with staff and students on production units to facilitate the workshop process for visiting composers, writers and theatre-makers.

Richard composed the music for Momo (1973) by Michael Ende with book and lyrics by Anthony Crowley (2022) and a production of The Spirit Level; or the Strange Case of Agatha Banks, an opera in 13 scenes with Libretto by Rufus Norris, current Artistic Director of the National Theatre in London (2023)

Richard has composed a significant new body of work for Inscape Piano Trio and premiered these compositions at a concert in 2023 at the Art Gallery of Ballarat.

Research interests

  • Contemporary composition
  • Opera and music theatre studies
  • Jazz, World Music and traditional music of the British Isles
  • Performing arts pedagogy
  • Music and the visual arts
  • Devised performance

Publications

Selected Creative Works

The Windhover (2023) after the poem by Gerard Manley Hopkins. Work for solo violin. Published by Wirripang. Non-traditional research output.

Hiraeth (2023) Work for piano trio. Published by Wirripang. Non-traditional research output.

Care-Charmer Sleep (2023) Work for SATB vocal ensemble; poem by Samuel Daniel. Published by Wirripang. Non-traditional research output.

https://www.australiancomposers.com.au/pages/richard-chew

The Music of Images (2023) Performance of new works for piano trio at the Art Gallery of Ballarat, including PRB, a work in 8 movements to mark the opening of Pre-Raphaelite Drawings & Watercolours, an international touring exhibition from the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford. Non-traditional research output.

Momo (2022) Music theatre adaption of the novel by Michael Ende. Book & lyrics by Anthony Crowley. Arts Academy, Ballarat. Full production planned for 2025.

Flight(2022) Fanfare for orchestra, commissioned by Federation University as processional music for graduation ceremonies.

Lifelines (2021) A cappella song cycle. Performed by Various People Inc. in collaboration with the South Australian Museum and The Lab @ Light. Chamber Music Adelaide.

Solitary (2020) Song cycle for mezzo soprano and piano. Australian Digital Concert Hall.

The Spirit Level (2017) Opera in 13 scenes. Libretto by Rufus Norris. Her Majesty’s Theatre, Ballarat. Originally commissioned by English National Opera.

The Windhover (2016) Performed by Elizabeth Layton at Ukaria (South Australia) https://www.variouspeople.com.au/heart-in-hiding-page. This work was also synched to image in the award-winning documentary film The Missing(2019) by Wind & Sky Productions. https://windsky.com.au/the-missing/.

The Last of England (2016) for solo piano, after the painting by Ford Madox Brown. Premiered at the Art Gallery of Ballarat in conjunction with the exhibition The Last of England: Emigration in Prints and Australian History Association Conference, hosted by Federation University.

The Six Swans(2014) community opera, commissioned by Wonderful Beast Theatre Company, UK. Libretto by Jehane Markham. First performed at Leiston Abbey in Suffolk, as part of the Storm of Stories Festival. http://www.wonderfulbeast.co.uk/the-six-swans.html Australian premiere; Hartley Playhouse, Adelaide (2015). A collaboration between UniSA Creative and Tutti Arts Inc. https://glamadelaide.com.au/theatre-review-six-swans/.

The Velvet Gentleman(2012) music theatre work, commissioned by the Adelaide Cabaret Festival, based on the life and music of Erik Satie. Produced by Various People Inc and performed at the Adelaide Festival Centre. https://www.variouspeople.com.au/the-velvet-gentleman-page

Instructions for an Imaginary Man(2012) Multimedia song cycle for mezzo soprano, baritone, and piano sextet. Commissioned by the Adelaide Festival, based on the writings of prisoners of conscience. Performed at the Adelaide Old Gaol. https://www.variouspeople.com.au/imaginary-man-page

https://www.adelaidefestival.com.au/media/3689/2012-adelaide-festival-booking-guide.pdf

Waterloo Canticle No.1 Swords into Plowshares (2011) for double choir SATB and organ. Commissioned by the Waterloo and St John’s Festival in London. Performed by the WC2 Ensemble (singers from the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. Second performance at St John’s Festival (2012), Meridian Ensemble.

Book Chapters

End(e)Games: Adapting Michael Ende’s fantasy novel Momo for the stage as an experiential learning activity; offering scope for dialogic pedagogy, synergies of creative practice and improved educational outcomes post-pandemic.

In Crisis and Creativity, Cambridge Scholars Publishing. Book in preparation, 2024.

Soundings: Sensing and Encounters in/with/of Place. M. Duffy, A. Campbell, R. Chew in Sounding Places: More-Than-Representational Geographies of Sound and Music, 9 - 20, Edward Elgar Publishing, 2019.

Viridian, Mostar 2004. In Remnants of War: Retracing the sites of Conflict and Reconciliation, 163 - 183, Lythrum Press, Adelaide, 2009.

Refereed journal articles

Liveness in the Digital Age: Case Studies. R. Fewster, G. Brookman, R. Chew. Australasian Drama Studies (ADS): Special Edition; Issue 79/Oct 2021.

Ariel Songs: Performing Cultural Ecologies of Ballarat. A. Campbell, T. Beer, R. Chew, K. Durban. Australasian Drama Studies (ADS): Special Edition; Issue 77/Jan 2021.

The Last of England: A Work for Solo Piano after the Painting by Ford Madox Brown. R. Chew. Australasian Journal of Victorian Studies (AJVS): Victorian Interfaces, Special Edition (2019/20)

Conference papers

Momo: A New Music Theatre Work after the Novel by Michael Ende. AusAct Actor Training Conference, Federation University/Charles Sturt University, 2023. (Book chapter for Cambridge Scholars in preparation)

Earshot: a performative commemoration of the Great War and its aftermath. Fighting for Peace: Aftermath, Commemoration and Regional Remembrance. Federation University, Deakin University, Creative Clunes, 2019.

On Another’s Sorrow: Musical Commemorations of Trauma and the Problem of Empathy. Peace, Empathy and Conciliation through Music conference, University of Melbourne, 2017.

Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd: From Melodrama to Musical Thriller - presented at the International Music Theatre Symposium, University of Adelaide, 2009 (Musicological Society of Australia)

The Hiroshima Piano: presented at the Narratives of War Symposium, UniSA, 2009.

Associations

  • AusAct - Member, Advisory Board
  • DDCA: The Australian Council of Deans and Directors of Creative Arts - Member of Executive Board