Joseph Twist
Composer and Musician
What is your musical background?
I was born in Australia but am now living in the United States, and am interested in all kinds of music. My compositions and arrangements straddle film music, concert music and crosses genres ranging from ancient vocal music, opera, contemporary orchestral music, to jazz, musical theatre and cabaret. I have long been interested and involved in choral music as a singer and composer, receiving numerous commissions and performances from choirs in Australia around the world, including Gondwana Voices, Sydney Children’s Choir, The National Youth Choir of Australia, The Australian Voices, The Young New Yorkers’ Chorus, The Choir of Trinity College Cambridge, Chanticleer, Voces8, The Idea Of North, and many others.
What is your advice to singers performing your works?
In my music I try to take both the singers and the listeners on a journey and tell a story through the marriage of words and music. I love to see young singers not only singing beautifully, but also conveying evocative poetry, telling a story or setting a scene.
Find songs by Joseph:
Flying Home (2-part treble with piano, and piano backing track)
Fields of Allonville (TTBB with piano)
Fields of Allonville (SATB with piano)
Goodnight (Treble unison with piano, and piano backing track)
One Voice (3-part treble with piano, and backing track)
Rocket Ship Canon (Treble unison with piano)
Space Kangaroo (Treble unison with piano and backing track)
We Shake the Ground (2-parts with piano and body percussion)
What are your favourite pieces you’ve composed?
Flying Home is one of my favourite pieces because it conveys a story we can all relate to. Ex-Birralee singer Joshua Clifford’s words express a longing for home, enjoying the freedom, magic and wonder of flying. Another favourite piece of mine is Rain Dream, written for Gondwana Voices which again tells an evocative story of a child who lives in the bush who has never seen rain.
Timeless Land: Australian Song Cycle
1. Sunrise on the Coast (SATB with piano)
1. Sunrise on the Coast (SATB with piano and cello)
2. Andy’s Gone with Cattle (SATB)
3. Wonga Vine (SA with piano and cello)
5. Lorikeets (SATB with piano)
5. Lorikeets (SATB with piano and cello)
6. Jellyfish (SATB with divisi)
7. Ashes (SATB with piano and cello)