Composer-in-Residence Pilot Program


A New Initiative For Working-Class Composers






From June 23 to July 7, Naarm/Melbourne-based composer and bassist Joseph Franklin will take up residency in the front bar at Ern Malley Est. 1943. Transforming the under-utilised daytime space into his creative studio where he will develop a new piece for solo cello, performed by David Moran.

This partnership with Ern Malley embeds Franklin within the Norwood, Payneham, and Stepney city council area, inviting community members and workers to join him for a knock-off drink and a chat.

The inaugural two-week residency will culminate in a community workshop on July 4th, a public performance of original compositions on July 6th, and the publication of a zine both online and in-print.

The pilot program supported by the City of Norwood, Payneham and Stepney and in partnership with Soundstream is set to evolve into a recurring initiative, offering up to three, month-long residencies annually. The success of this pilot phase is expected to secure the necessary funding and support for expansion in 2025, establishing it as a cornerstone of the Australian new music and contemporary arts landscape.

Empowering working-class voices: MUD's new Composer-in-Residence program

MUD’s new Composer-in-Residence Pilot Program seeks to empower working-class composers and address their underrepresentation in the Australian new music scene. 

Hosted in Tarntanya/Adelaide from June 23 to July 7, this initiative will feature Naarm/Melbourne-based composer Joseph Franklin, who will take up creative residence at bar Ern Malley, and write for David Moran on solo cello.

The program will include a community workshop and performance of the work in development, as well as a zine publication. 

Proudly supported by the City of Norwood, Payneham & Stepney, and in partnership with Soundstream, this pilot aims to become an annual residency series in 2025, continuously elevating working-class voices and fostering new Australian repertoire.

About the composer:

Joseph Franklin is a composer and bassist from Gunaikurnai country, in regional Australia. His compositional practice is wide-ranging and combines notated and improvised modalities, drawing from experimental music, sound art, instrument design, and interweaving a distinctive approach to instrumentality.

Joseph has composed for the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, Flinders Quartet, Australian Youth Orchestra, Geist Quartet, and The Music Box Project, among others. In 2022, he composed and performed solo in the contemporary ballet Storm Approaching Wangi and Other Desires.

About David Moran:

David Moran is an Australian cellist with broad musical interests specialising in the interpretation of exploratory music. David has been a member of the Lucerne Festival Contemporary Orchestra from 2022-24 and was cellist for ULYSSES Ensemble’s 2023 European formation. He has performed around Australia in solo and chamber music contexts, and his recently formed ensemble, Moirai, has been winning praise for “bringing centuries old melodies seamlessly into a 21st Century aesthetic without diluting the historic integrity.” (Miranda Hill, Klassikon)

David was a Freedman Fellowship Nominee in 2022 and was awarded Chamber Music Adelaide’s Young Performer of the Year in 2020.






©MUD ARTS 2024