Famous Australian Composers

Tash Sultana soared to fame with her phenomenally successful single Jungle, which was first posted on YouTube and went viral on social media, gaining a million views in 5 days. The non-binary Australian singer uses the pronoun “they.” She also made it to the 2019 Forbes 30 under 30 list.

Tal Wilkenfeld is an Australian singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. She developed an early interest in music and graduated from Los Angeles Music Academy College of Music. She is the bandleader of her own bands and has also performed in collaboration with artists including Jeff Beck, Herbie Hancock, Prince, and Mick Jagger. She is a regular practitioner of meditation. 

Phillip Wilcher is a pianist and composer. He is credited with co-founding the popular children's music group, The Wiggles. Wilcher achieved popularity early in his life as he released his first classical composition at the age of 14, becoming one of the youngest Australian classical composers. Over the course of his career, Wilcher has released more than 100 piano-related works.

Award-winning Australian singer Kate Miller‐Heidke specializes in both contemporary pop and classical music. Apart from releasing multi-platinum hits such as Last Day on Earth, she has also composed the opera Rabbits and performed at various international music festivals. Her album O Vertigo! became the fastest crowdfunded project on Pledge.

Born to an English father in Australia, Percy Grainger was raised by his mother after their parents’ split. Mostly homeschooled after being bullied by his batchmates, he developed a love for music and debuted as a pianist at 10. He revived English folk music and set up the Grainger Museum.

The cofounder of the Australia’s iconic rock band, INXS, Andrew Farriss also serves as its main songwriter, keyboardist, guitarist, and backing vocalist. Opening his first band, Doctor Dolphin, while in high school, he later joined The Farriss Brothers before cofounding The Vegetables, which later became INXS. Winner of many awards, he released his debut album at the age of 62.

Rowland S. Howard began his career playing the guitar and writing songs as a teenager. A significant name in the rock, punk, and post-punk scene, he later gained fame with the band The Birthday Party. He was working on the album Pop Crimes when he lost his battle with liver cancer.

Mick Harvey is an Australian singer-songwriter, musician, composer, and arranger. He often collaborates with his longtime friend and fellow musician Nick Cave, with whom he formed the bands The Boys Next Door and The Birthday Party. He also has a successful solo career. He is the recipient of numerous accolades, including many ARIA Awards.

Best known as lead singer and solo continues member of the Australian alternative rock band The Vines, Craig Nicholls developed an early interest in music. He opened his band, then called Rishikesh, in 1994. Later he changed the name to Vines and as it started playing gigs he began writing songs for it, also painting covers for several of its album.

Graeme Bell was an Australian classical jazz pianist, band leader, and composer. Bell is credited with popularizing jazz in Australia by bringing many American performers like Rex Stewart to Australia. In 1997, Graeme Bell was inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame at the 11th Annual Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards.

Bernie McGann was an Australian musician and alto saxophone player. McGann, who led the famous Bernie McGann Quartet and Trio, was also active as a composer, recording artist, and performer till the end of his life. Between 1993 and 2001, he was honored with four ARIA Music Awards. In 2008, McGann was inducted into the Graeme Bell Hall of Fame.