Bernard Houston
Mansfield, Queensland, Australia
Music
Press
This band has no press
Discography
Various songs and instrumental pieces have been played on ABC AM in Brisbane and Canberra. My facebook page (Bernard Houston - composer) has many songs and instrumental pieces for listening as does my website www.bernardcomposer.com
I can also be found on triple j unearthed.
Photos
Feeling a bit camera shy
Bio
I love exploring how music can tell a story. I have pursued this interest through producing music for film; theatre; musical theatre; instrumental and song writing. Over the last five years I have composed music for 14 theatre shows and 18 short films. This experience has taught me much and I have used what I have learnt to develop an extensive repertoire of pieces in the genres that resonate most deeply with me.
When writing for myself I’m drawn instrumentally to African and South American flavours. When writing songs I draw upon folk and other roots/acoustic influences.
Some career highlights in theatre composition include “Flicking the Flint” with an ambient electronic score that in the words of the Courier Mail “underscored the dual atmospheres of nature’s splendours and menace”. My own music theatre projects “Voyage to Prester John” and “Cloudland” have been supported via the Metro Arts Creative Development Festival. “Voyage to Prester John”, has received strong interest from the Queensland Music Festival and continuing support through the National MAPs for Arts program. This show was shorted listed for the National New Theatre Music Develop Program.
I have also composed and been musical director for many emerge series plays at the Judith Wright Centre of Contemporary Arts. These productions included “Batavia”, “Getting Betterer All the Time”, “The Carbon Footprint Cabaret” and “Symphony in a Flat”.
Film
Many short film that I have composed for have screened at national and international festivals resulting in a personal listing in the International Movie Data Base. Two films, “The Foal” and “Deliberation” screened in 16 national and international film festivals including the 2010 Cannes Film Festival; the 10th Whistler Film Festival and “In the Bin Short Film Festival” for which “The Foal” won the best short film award. Other notable film credits include “Embrace” (screened 41st Edition of the Bolzano Short Film Festival & The Seventh Experimental International Film Festival – Sydney); “Widow’s Cure”(screened Parabox 11th Montclair International Film Festival &Interrobang Film Festival) and “Homestead”.
Popular song
This last year I set myself the personal challenge of writing, arranging, recording and distributing via Facebook a new song each week. I called this project “52 songs”. So far I have written 42 pieces and over 200 people are following the story. ABC AM in Brisbane and Canberra have interviewed me and both stations have broadcast my material. My song “Tender Reeds” written for “Dunkirk” was highly commended in 2009 Queensland New Film Makers Awards. Another “Blue skies” is being used by “Advanced Breast Cancer” to promote their cause.
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