'Young's music has this sense of structural rhetoric'
- Conductor Jessica Cottis
Biography
Miriama Young is a composer and sound artist who uses music to blend unique sound worlds and create new sonic colours. She is Head of Composition at the University of Melbourne Conservatorium of Music. Her work draws on an eclectic array of art forms and contexts, leading her to be described by The Herald Scotland as a ‘Renaissance woman’,
Miriama's music spans vocal, instrumental, and orchestral concert works, film scores, interactive sound for dance, electro-acoustic and radiophonic work, and installations. Her sound world is grounded in themes of place, time, and ecology, and the act of composing driven by a desire to reach for the mysterious and sublime.
In her 25+ years as a professional composer, Miriama has received numerous awards and accolades for her work. Her music has been performed by ensembles across the globe, from Norway to New Zealand, including the Sydney Symphony, Scottish Opera, SoPercussion, Syzygy Ensemble, NZTrio, and pianists Aura Go, Xenia Pestova, and Rolf Hind. Her film score attracted awards at film festivals worldwide, while her installations have been showcased at Vivid Sydney. Additionally, her radio work is played on National Public Radio (USA), ABC (Australia), and Radio New Zealand. In 2023, Young's latest album This Earthly Round was released on ABC Classics, and many other works are included on compilation albums, including Strike: New Zealand Percussion Music (NZ Classical Album of the Year, 2001); New Zealand Sonic Art; andClassic Women of Note II.
Miriama's scholarly work explores the intricate relationship between the human voice and recording technology. Her monograph Singing the Body Electric: The Human Voice and Sound Technology, was listed in the Times Higher Education Best Books 2015, while chapters and articles on a similar theme are published in the Oxford Handbook of Voice Studies, Leonardo Music Journal, and Contemporary Music Review.
Miriama represented New Zealand at the International World Music Days Festival and is represented by SOUNZ and the Australian Music Centre. Born and raised in New Zealand, she earned her Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Music (1st Class Hons) degrees from Victoria University of Wellington, NZ, and with a Fulbright Award pursued her MFA and PhD at Princeton University.
Miriama's music spans vocal, instrumental, and orchestral concert works, film scores, interactive sound for dance, electro-acoustic and radiophonic work, and installations. Her sound world is grounded in themes of place, time, and ecology, and the act of composing driven by a desire to reach for the mysterious and sublime.
In her 25+ years as a professional composer, Miriama has received numerous awards and accolades for her work. Her music has been performed by ensembles across the globe, from Norway to New Zealand, including the Sydney Symphony, Scottish Opera, SoPercussion, Syzygy Ensemble, NZTrio, and pianists Aura Go, Xenia Pestova, and Rolf Hind. Her film score attracted awards at film festivals worldwide, while her installations have been showcased at Vivid Sydney. Additionally, her radio work is played on National Public Radio (USA), ABC (Australia), and Radio New Zealand. In 2023, Young's latest album This Earthly Round was released on ABC Classics, and many other works are included on compilation albums, including Strike: New Zealand Percussion Music (NZ Classical Album of the Year, 2001); New Zealand Sonic Art; andClassic Women of Note II.
Miriama's scholarly work explores the intricate relationship between the human voice and recording technology. Her monograph Singing the Body Electric: The Human Voice and Sound Technology, was listed in the Times Higher Education Best Books 2015, while chapters and articles on a similar theme are published in the Oxford Handbook of Voice Studies, Leonardo Music Journal, and Contemporary Music Review.
Miriama represented New Zealand at the International World Music Days Festival and is represented by SOUNZ and the Australian Music Centre. Born and raised in New Zealand, she earned her Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Music (1st Class Hons) degrees from Victoria University of Wellington, NZ, and with a Fulbright Award pursued her MFA and PhD at Princeton University.
