Christopher Sainsbury

Brief Introduction

Christopher Sainsbury composes in various genres and his recent works include a Flute Concertino for Sally Walker and the Canberra Symphony Orchestra 2025, an opera The Visitors commissioned by Richard Mills for the Victorian Opera Company's 2023 season (with libretto by Jane Harrison) and a string orchestra work String Talk commissioned by the Sydney Symphony Orchestra for July 2024. "You know that feeling when you are taken into a place and your sensations are stroked, smoothed, satisfied? You experience things you did not even know you wanted, and yet they are so glorious you never want them to end? That is String Talk."  (Broadcaster Ed Le Brocq and members of the AYO). There was also A Lithium Fascination commissioned by the UBC Future Minerals Working Group and Axiom Brass Chicago as part of The Heavy Metal Suite (a collaboration between 8 leading international composers), Singing Stone - a 2024 ABC Classic album featuring his music performed by Australian guitar great Ken Murray with Melbourne musicians including members of the Conservatorium Faculty of the University of Melbourne, and Ocean Song – an album of ambient surf music with the Random Earth Band which features legendary Australian guitarist Guy Strazz and Chris on guitars. Some early commissions include works for the Australian Chamber Orchestra (1987), for Australian flute elder Gordon Yemm (1987), as well as for the Central Coast Philharmonia (1988) – a group from his long-term home region. He highlights that it is meaningful for him to work with community groups of his home region, not just professional groups. See Bio for a more comprehensive list of composing engagements and credits.

Sainsbury is Professor in Composition at the Australian National University (ANU) Canberra. He won the APRA National Luminary Award in 2020 for effecting change within the classical and new music industry through the Ngarra-burria First Peoples Composers program (see Ngarra-burria page), and a Classical:NEXT Innovation Award was awarded to the program in 2022 for innovation in practice. He was also winner of the (Boston) New England Philharmonic Orchestra's Open Call for Scores in 2010-11. Since the mid-1980s he has made a sustained contribution to Australian music through composing, performing and teaching. In more recent years he has strongly advocated for the commissioning and programming of First Nations composers, and also advocated for more programming of all Australian composers. “It’s so clear that your work and guidance have been invaluable to help the ABC forge a deeper engagement with Australian composers.” (Matthew Dewey – former Music Director, ABC Classic).