
Wally Gunn is a composer who makes use of patterns and processes in his work, and sometimes utilizes speech, gesture, and movement to heighten the theatricality of musical performance, all with the aim of creating music that is expressive and affecting. The extramusical themes in his work look outward to explore the natural world, and inward to reflect queer identity and experience. Hailing from rural Australia, Wally first played in rock bands, then attended Victorian College of the Arts in Melbourne, before moving to New York to study at Manhattan School of Music, and then pursue a PhD at Princeton University. He currently divides his time between USA and Australia.
For a full biography, an artist’s statement, a curriculum vitae, and photographs, go to Media Kit.
‘Rorqual’ is a 60 minute song cycle for vocalist and chamber ensemble by Wally Gunn with text from various authors, including contemporary poet Katie Berta. The work was commissioned by Rubiks Collective, and the premiere season features the ensemble joined by vocalist Gian Slater.
2024.12.05 / 7:30 PM
2024.12.06 / 7:30 PM
2024.12.07 / 2:00 PM
2024.12.07 / 7:30 PM
Temperance Hall, 199 Napier St, South Melbourne, VIC 3205, Australia / ‘Rorqual’ (world premiere) / Rubiks Collective, Gian Slater / tickets and more information
‘Rorqual’ takes the story of “the world’s loneliest whale” as the inspiration for an intimate and affecting work that journeys through withdrawal, solitude, resilience, and connection. Using found and repurposed texts drawn from the deep past to the present, composer Wally Gunn’s song cycle fuses classical and indie-rock music, and features the ethereal vocals of jazz singer Gian Slater, the searingly precise musicians of Rubiks Collective, immersive interludes from sound artist Tilman Robinson, and dark dreamscape projections from film artist Chris Bennett. The show takes the audience from the ocean’s shimmering surface to its mysterious depths, and back. Join us for the world premiere season of ‘Rorqual, the story of this modern-day mythological creature that continues to sing its one-of-a-kind song.
‘I heart Artemis’ is a 60 minute oratorio by Wally Gunn and longtime collaborator, librettist Maria Zajkowski, written in fulfillment of the Albert H Maggs Composition Award, and completed in 2021. The world premiere was performed by Variant 6 in Philadelphia, PA, in March 2022 and the Australian premiere was performed by The Consort of Melbourne in September 2022, the Australian in 2019.
Everything is fragile. Love, the earth, the waters we rely on to give us life. And things can change so easily. Even those who think they are untouchable can be touched by change. In the time before time, Athena and Artemis meet, fall in love, and live a brief eternity of passion. But their paradise can’t last. On earth, men wage war, indulge their lusts, and exploit the land. Athena and Artemis watch in horror as the world falls apart, and must unite to defend what cannot defend itself. Is time running out? The deities are watching. ‘I heart Artemis’ is a story about a mythological love and a very real crisis, which asks the most pressing questions about humanity’s future.
Smythesdale is Wally Gunn’s pop music project, in collaboration with lyricist Maria Zajkowski, visual artist Martin John Lee, and filmmaker Terrence Hunt. Wally and Maria collaborated on a set of five songs in 2016, and from March – May 2020, Wally recorded them. The five-track EP ‘Space For Stars’ was released on July 15, 2020. Visit the Smythesdale page on this website to stream the full 5-song EP of music on Spotify and Apple Music, view the magnificent artwork, read the gorgeous lyrics, and follow links to the contributing artists’ sites to check out their previous work.
‘Moonlite’ is a 90 minute oratorio, based on the true crime queer love story of the 19th-century Australian bushranger Andrew George Scott, known as ‘Captain Moonlite.’ Wally and longtime collaborator, librettist Maria Zajkowski, wrote the work over the course of two years, starting in 2017, and in May of 2019, the work was premiered by Variant 6, Mobius Percussion, and Veronica Jurkiewicz in Philadelphia, PA, New York, NY, and Princeton, NJ. The work won the Albert H Maggs Composition Award in 2019.
In Australia, in the late 19th-century, an educated Irishman by the name of Andrew George Scott rose to infamy. Once an engineer, soldier, and gentleman, Scott was employed as a preacher when he was convicted of bank robbery, leaving a note at the scene signed ‘Captain Moonlite.’ While in prison he met James Nesbitt and the two became lovers. Upon release, Scott and Nesbitt were plagued by hardship and police harassment in Melbourne, and set out for the countryside in search of work and a better life. With a reputation preceding them and hunger at their heels, their honest efforts were thwarted, leading them to take desperate actions. The extraordinary events that followed tell a story of daring, bravery, love, violence, tragedy, and punishment, and in 1880 Scott went to the gallows, wearing a ring made of Nesbitt’s hair. The events of Scott’s life are documented in his own words in letters he wrote while waiting for his execution. ‘Moonlite’ is based on his account.
Click on the titles for video, audio, and more information about the piece.
Some titles are available for sale at the Wally Gunn store.
Stairwell Echoes
2022 (05:00)
Celeste and harpsichord
Commissioned by Astra Chamber Music
To The Uttermost Parts
2022 (10:00)
Text by Wally Gunn
Solo percussion with speaking voice
Commissioned by Eric Shuster
Ore
2018 (07:00)
Text by Maria Zajkowski
Percussion duo with speaking voices
Commissioned by the New Works Project and consortium members
Seven Shells
2016 (06:00)
Text by Wally Gunn
Solo prepared drum kit and speaking voice
Commissioned by Becca Doughty and consortium
Astonishing Islands
2016 (09:00)
Solo guitar with voice
Commissioned by St John’s Smith Square
Written for Laura Snowden
Arches and Shadows
2016 (08:30)
Solo violin or solo viola with singing voice
Bare White Bones
2016 (10:00)
Text by Wally Gunn and James Gunn
Flute, percussion
Commissioned by Gemini Duo and consortium
Willow
2015 (04:00)
Text by Wally Gunn and Jenise Treuting
Solo drum kit
Commissioned by Jason Treuting
Little Things
2015 (22:00)
Text by Wally Gunn
Percussion duo
Commissioned by Steady State
Can You Hear Me?
2012 (09:00)
Piano, drum kit and percussion
Written for futureCities
Mantid
2012 (06:30)
Shakuhachi or alto flute, tape
Written for Riley Lee
The Hive
2005 (14:00)
Viola, percussion, tape
Written for Phoebe Green
Space For Stars
2016 (17:00)
Music by Wally Gunn
Words by Maria Zajkowski
2 voices and 3 instrumental parts
Discothèque
2016 (10:00)
Percussion trio
Broken Song
2016 (06:30)
Oboe, melodica and toy piano, harp
Pinwheel
2016 (09:30)
Trumpet, trombone, electric guitar
Commissioned by Three
Blood
2015 (20:00)
String quartet
Commissioned by The Letter String Quartet
Vicious Children
2014 (09:00)
Text by Wally Gunn, after Mother Goose
Percussion quartet
Written for Mobius Percussion
Archaean Eon
2013 (06:00)
Electric guitar quartet, drum kit
Written for Dither Guitar Quartet
Stones
2013 (20:00)
Percussion quartet
Written for Mobius Percussion
Double Or Nothing
2012 (09:00)
Percussion quartet
Tangram
2012 (08:00)
Percussion quartet
Written for Sō Percussion
Skin and Bone
2008 (09:00)
String quartet
PreCambrian
2003 (04:40)
Guitar quartet
Rorqual
2024 (55:00)
Song cycle for mezzo-soprano voice, flute, clarinet, cello, piano, percussion
Music by Wally Gunn
Text by various authors
Commissioned by Rubiks Collective
I heart Artemis
2021 (60:00)
An oratorio for six voices
Music by Wally Gunn
Libretto by Maria Zajkowski
Written for Variant 6 and The Consort of Melbourne
Moonlite
2019 (88:00)
Music by Wally Gunn
Libretto by Maria Zajkowski
6 voices, 4 percussion, viola
Written for Variant 6 and Mobius Percussion
Interior
2016 (08:30)
Flute, clarinet, trombone, piano, violin, contrabass
Written for Ensemble Mise-En
The Ascendant
2012 and 2016 (31:15)
Text by Maria Zajkowski
8 voices, drum kit
Commissioned by Roomful of Teeth
Arid Land
2014 (06:00)
Orchestra
The Earth Must Move
2015 (06:00)
Text by Nicolaus Copernicus
Mens vocal ensemble
Commissioned by Brooklyn Youth Chorus
Long Distance
2015 (22:40)
Text by Scott Brennan
Tenor voice, woodwind octet, piano, percussion
Lonely Road
2011 (08:00)
Flute, clarinet, oboe, bassoon, horn, trumpet, trombone, percussion, violin, viola, violoncello, double bass
Doublethink
2009 (07:50)
Orchestra
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