We can think of no better guest mentor for our Composer Feature Episode than Season 1 2023’s regular mentor Evan J Lawson.

Evan J Lawson (b.1989, he/they) is one of Australia’s leading queer artists, working at the forefront of contemporary culture as composer, writer, curator, and conductor, chiefly as artistic director of interdisciplinary company Forest Collective.

Hailed by Clive O’Connell that …the sonorities that emerged often proved extraordinary… Evan has been composing music since the age of 10, is a graduate of the Victorian College of the Arts, the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music, and developing artist programs with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Malthouse Theatre, the Australian Conducting Academy and Gragenegg Festival. In Australia, he has studied with Benjamin Northey, Richard Gill, Kevin March, and Johanna Selleck, and internationally with David Aronson, Christopher Hogwood, and Matthias Pintscher who has said that his music is serene, deep, it’s even breathing the heritage of Mahler.

Evan was composer-in-residence at Billilla Mansion in 2015, a member of the Academy of Festival d’Aix-en-Provence in 2020 and 2021, served as the principal conductor for the Bendigo Festival of Exploratory Music in 2019, and is currently musical director of the Monash University Choral Society.

Lawson is an Associate Represented Artist with the Australian Music Centre.

Tune in to The Talent every Tuesday night at 7pm to 103.5FM 3MBS Melbourne. You can also stream the live broadcast at 3mbs.org.au or catch up later on our podcast! Just search for “The Talent 3MBS“ in your favourite podcast app and subscribe.