Haydn Reeder

Born in Melbourne in 1944, Haydn Reeder is a composer, pianist, teacher and music publishing specialist. He holds a Bachelor of Music and a PhD from the University of Melbourne, and a Master of Arts from La Trobe University. He also undertook further piano and composition studies at the Graz and Vienna Academies of Music in Austria, later preparing contemporary scores for Universal Edition in Vienna and London. During this period, he was influenced by master classes and consultations with musicians including Alfred Brendel, Harrison Birtwistle, György Ligeti and Pierre Boulez.

Reeder’s career has combined composition, scholarship and teaching. From 1983 to 1989 he lectured in Theory and Composition at La Trobe University, and an APA Scholarship later supported the completion of his PhD in 2005. His awards include a prize in the 1976 Premio “Città di Trieste” for Attract and Repulse for orchestra, as well as Composer Fellowships from federal and Victorian bodies. With assistance from the Australia Council, he has received commissions from ensembles and soloists in London and Australia, including the Australian Sinfonia, Omega Guitar Quartet, West Square Electronic Music Association, Jochen Schubert, the Seymour Group, Flederman, Elision, Melbourne Windpower, the Song Company and the Melbourne Composers League.

His output includes chamber music, a chamber opera, and orchestral, vocal, choral and live-electronic works. In 1992, Games of Balance for harp and Celebration of the Mandala for seven trombones were finalists in the Fukui International Harp Music Competition in Japan and the Trombone Association Contest in the United States. His music has also been recorded and released internationally: Masks for piano was recorded by Larry Sitsky for Move Records, while Vienna Modern Masters issued Lark 2 for saxophone and orchestra, performed by the Ruse State Philharmonic Orchestra in Bulgaria. Other chamber works have appeared on Melbourne Composers League CDs, in concert recordings on YouTube, and through TuneCore releases including ambivalaence I.

Since 2007, Reeder has given duet concerts with his brother Max, while also accompanying soloists and school productions. He continues to teach piano, theory and composition, and works in music publishing as a copyist and proofreader. Across these roles, Haydn Reeder has made a sustained and wide-ranging contribution to Australian music.