Below you will find a selection of my orchestral works.

To purchase a score, request further information or to commission a new orchestral work, please message me via the Contact page.

RELEASE (2020-21)

This piece was commissioned by the Sydney Symphony Orchestra as part of their 50 Fanfares Project, generously supported by Christine Bishop.

I found inspiration in my own life for this work, the title referring to those moments, those relationships, those chapters, where the healthiest, safest thing for us to do for our own sakes, is to let go. Release explores the courage and bravery it takes to move away from something that no longer feels right in trust that something greater serves us elsewhere.

The premiere performances, conducted by Simone Young, took place in the Sydney Opera House Concert Hall on November 9, 11 and 12, 2022.

COME TO SLEEP | COTTER KYPRIOTIS, ARR. ELLA MACENS (2019)

In 2019 I had the absolute pleasure of writing the orchestral arrangement for Cotter Kypriotis’ beautiful song Come To Sleep.

This project took place in conjunction with the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra’s Australian Composers’ School which I was selected to participate in from 2018-19.

GLASS OCEAN (2019)

A concertino for cor anglais and symphony orchestra. Approximate duration: 11 minutes.

This piece was composed for Dinah Woods and the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra in conjunction with the TSO Australian Composers’ School (2018-19).

Whilst composing this piece I imagined a glass ocean upon which we could walk and gaze down through crystalline beauty at the world below. I imagined the various colours, textures and shapes that would become visible and wondered what it would be like if we could slice the ocean in half and observe the activity within without the water flowing over, as if looking through a large glass window at the aquarium. As the varying moods and atmospheres of this piece developed, the work began to have two meanings - one that celebrates the beauty of our aquatic life, and the other that realises the destruction and suffering we have inflicted on this ecosystem in need of our protection.

Click here to experience a brief excerpt of the work.

LAMENTATION (2018)

For symphony orchestra. Approximate duration: 9 minutes.

This piece was composed for the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra in conjunction with the TSO Australian Composers’ School (2018-19).

As the title suggests, this work is a passionate expression of grief and sorrow. The piece explores the fusion of and balance between process generated material and intuitive music making to create a dense mass of textural layers that shifts between moments of clarity and obscurity. The core technique explored within this work involves the superimposition of musical ideas: the laying of one thing over another, typically so that both are still evident. The original inspiration behind this work was Arvo Part’s Cantus in Memoriam for Benjamin Britten.

melting glaciers (2018)

For symphony orchestra. Approximate duration: 4 minutes 50 seconds.

This piece was composed for the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra in conjunction with the TSO Australian Composers’ School (2018-19).

Whilst composing this work I found my imagination filling with imagery of the incredible fjords and glaciers I saw whilst in Alaska in 2012. I remember feeling perplexed by these enormous, powerful and immovable structures that seemed so ominous and unpredictable. The atmosphere was very mystical as we awaited the thunderous sound of cracking ice which echoed across the natural landscape in every direction. I find it very distressing to learn of the damaging effects of global warming on our natural landscapes, and it is saddening to think that one day these magnificent structures may no longer exist. Melting Glaciers aims to depict the beauty of this natural landscape whilst simultaneously contrasting this with the sadness of its inevitable destruction.

the space between stars (2017)

For symphony orchestra. Approximate duration: 11 minutes 40 seconds.

This piece was composed for a workshop opportunity with the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra in conjunction with the Sydney Conservatorium of Music's inaugural National Women Composers’ Development Program (2016-17). When I began composing this work, I imagined the listener laying in an open field, the earth in total stillness. I imagined them gazing up at the night sky, watching as it glowed with millions of bright shining stars. Through this piece I wanted to convey the energy and magic of our night sky, and explore the power I believe it holds. I would like to dedicate this piece to my grandfather Arturs who passed away whilst the work was being composed. May you rest peacefully among the stars.

This recording can be purchased via the ABC site. Click here for more information.

FLIGHT (2016)

For symphony orchestra. Approximate duration: 6 minutes 30 seconds.

FLIGHT was my first piece composed for symphony orchestra and actually began as an orchestrated and extended version of my solo marimba piece titled VERVE which you can hear under the Solo Works tab. FLIGHT was created for a workshop opportunity with the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra in conjunction with the Sydney Conservatorium of Music's inaugural National Women Composers' Development Program (2016-17). As the music unfolded, my mind became hooked on visualising the act of flying in all its forms – I imagined birds flying in our skies. To explore these perspectives, the piece morphs from boisterous and bold rhythmic motifs to more melancholic, soaring passages, as well as representing both the micro and macro perspectives of what these creatures see from above, diving in and out of lakes and forests and soaring high over mountain peaks.

With this work I was awarded the Fine Music FM 102.5 Young Composer Award for 2017.

Recording: The Willoughby Symphony Orchestra at the premiere performance in September 2017 conducted by Matthew Wood at the Concourse Theatre in Chatswood, NSW.

Orchestral Works