“Mesmerising throughout, her artistry and amazing theatrical gestures evoked an other-worldly experience.” Cult Classical 2022
The unique body of work envisioned by percussionist, creator, collaborator and educator, Thea Rossen follows a compelling common thread: helping audiences fall in love with music by immersing them in the transformational worlds she creates.
With multiple awards and nominations to her name (2017 Hugh Rogers Fellowship winner, 2018 Bang on a Can Summer Music Festival Fellow, 2018 Freedman Fellowship finalist, and more), Rossen’s trademark intuitive and inviting approach to music-making, programming and performance continues to turn heads across Australia, and beyond.
Central to the success of Rossen’s artistic output is its depth, innovation and fierce contemporary relevance. Attracting worldwide attention, her work Music for our Changing Climate (Metropolis Festival, 2018) presents a powerful exploration of issues surrounding climate change and the political context inherent. The work was developed via Rossen’s 2017 residency at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity (CAN) alongside Ad Lib Collective, her boundary-pushing contemporary music outfit, and developed through a US-based collaboration with MASARY Studios in Boston. In a similar vein, Rossen’s 2018 feature as the writer, presenter and facilitator of Melbourne Symphony Orchestra’s (MSO) flagship Education Week concerts, Carnival of Dangerous Creatures showcased her unique ability to frame complex issues in a way that is engaging for and accessible to audiences young and older alike.
Drawing from her background as a student of the Australian National Academy of Music (ANAM) and renowned performer of solo and chamber recitals, Rossen’s workshops, concerts and creative collaborations combine rigorous musicianship with a knack for seamless artistic presentation - all underpinned by a deep understanding of exactly how to recruit an audience and bring them along for the ride. Rossen has featured as a composer and solo-chamber artist at Extended Play Festival (2019), Living Pavilions Festival (2018), and - as a member of Ad Lib Collective - at cult Melbourne music series, Play On in collaboration with electronic artists Sleep D, later producing and releasing an album with the ensemble (2021). She also features as a collaborator in Unfold, a new duo with composer and improviser Alice Humphries (2022), Porcelain, a collaborative performance event with visual artist Sohan Ariel Hayes (2022), and Milk Carton Confessions, a work for solo performer with composer Michael Sollis presented by Tura New Music (2022).
Sewn into the fabric of Rossen’s programming is her immense breadth of skills spanning conceptual development, composition, and community-minded programming. As such, she possesses an immense gift for education and community-focused work. Alongside her work as in-concert animateur, she has written and presented programs featured in seasons presented by Western Australian Symphony Orchestra (WASO), Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (MSO), Queensland Symphony Orchestra (QSO), and Musica Viva in Schools (2022) including her Australian tour of Water Water Everywhere featuring the Water Concerto by celebrated Chinese-born American conductor and composer, Tan Dun. Rossen’s new show, Walking with the Wilderness features works by a host of Australian composers, inviting young audiences to imagine being on a bushwalk as they listen to bird calls and learn about fungi.
With a penchant for creating magic from found and everyday objects, the trademark participatory joy nurtured by Rossen makes music accessible to the widest-possible audience, no matter the context in which she operates. She has directed performances of Elliot Cole’s Flowerpot Music at Make Music Day (2020, 2021), presented countless workshops and events at ArtPlay and the Melbourne Recital Centre including the immersive music-making experience Drip Drop Play, and, in 2018, developed Benalla Junk Orchestra, a term-long music project with at-risk students of Benalla College.
Fuelling Rossen’s growing list of achievements is her vision to utilise music as a vehicle of connection, inclusion and discovery. It’s a driving force more powerful than the sum of its parts; a unique characteristic that makes Thea Rossen a flexible, multi-skilled and dynamic artist for the ages.