Music Composer Webinar: Registrations Now Open
On 21 June – Make Music Day – students can meet the talented composers behind the music in popular Australian children’s series.
In this free virtual learning event, primary and secondary students are invited to ask Joff Bush, Helena Czajka, Craig Pilkington, Ned Beckley and Josh Hogan about their backgrounds as composers, their work in creating music for TV shows and how they collaborate with others in the media industry.
Relevant to curriculum content in Media Arts, Music and English, this webinar gives students a behind-the-scenes glimpse into creating music for television and film. Our guest composers will discuss their creative processes, careers in music and media, and provide advice to aspiring composers.
Learn more about our talented webinar guests in the biographies below.
Joff Bush
Joff is the music composer behind the popular kids’ shows Are You Tougher Than Your Ancestors? and Bluey. Joff has also done music for adult shows including SBS’s The Family Law .
Originally a piano student at the Queensland Conservatorium, Bush was swayed towards composition after his piano mentor noted he was spending most of his time “writing and hanging out with film students”.
Joff has been credited with introducing a new generation to classical music – incorporating arrangements of pieces by Mozart, Holst, Bach and Beethoven into the Bluey soundtrack.
Helena Czajka
After graduating from the Sydney Conservatorium of Music with First Class Honours in Composition, Helena moved to Tokyo to work as an Orchestrator for renowned film composer Yoshihiro Ike.
She has composed the music for award-winning productions including the Walkley Award-winning documentary series Revelation, the Emmy and AACTA award-winning children’s show Bluey, and the AACTA Award-winning TV series Australian Survivor, for which Helena received an APRA Screen Music Award nomination for Best Music in a TV Series.
Craig Pilkington
Craig is a composer, multi-instrumentalist and founding member of ARIA award winning band The Killjoys. He holds a Bachelor of Music Honours from the Conservatorium Melbourne University.
As a composer and producer / engineer his albums have received multiple ARIA awards and nominations.
He has had many TV song placements including, Little Lunch, The Inbestigators, Home and Away, Neighbours, and the Secret Life Of Us.
Ned Beckley
Ned’s work spans electronic performance and recordings, soundtracks and sound design for film and TV, installation and dance. He has studied cinema at Melbourne University and worked at the National Film & Sound Archive, honing his understanding of the links between film and sound. His work has also involved production and playing live alongside international touring acts.
Ned and Josh Hogan won the ‘Best Music for Children's Television’ category at the 2020 Screen Music Awards for their music for Thalu (ABC Me).
Josh Hogan
Composer, Music Producer and Sound Designer, producing music and audio for the Australian Media Industry in a range of media in both short- and long-form formats, from TV to film and Documentary, Apps, Games, Radio and Music. As an educator, Lecturer in Sound and Music Production at the University of Western Australia.
Josh and Ned Beckley won the ‘Best Music for Children's Television’ category at the 2020 Screen Music Awards for their music for Thalu (ABC Me).
Music Composer Q&A Webinar Details
Date: Monday, 21 June 2021
Time: 11.30am – 12.15pm (AEST)
Year levels: Years 3 – 12
Cost: Free
Learn more or register here.
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