Ros Bandt

Rosalie (Ros) Edith Bandt (born 18 August 1951 in Geelong)^[1] is an Australian composer, sound artist, academic and performer.

Biography

Bandt was born in Geelong, Victoria. Her father Lewis Bandt was a car designer and notable for designing the first ute.

Described as one of the most individual presences in Australian music,^[1] Bandt is an internationally acclaimed sound artist, composer, researcher and performer. Trained as a school teacher, Bandt went on to study chance music and completed her master's degree in 1974 at Monash University with a thesis on the work of John Cage^[2] and later completed her PhD in 1983 also at Monash.^[3] In 1977 Bandt and Martin Harris created a sound installation, Winds and Circuits which fed audio into television signals to create electronic visual patterns.^[4] Since that time she pioneered interactive sound installations, sound sculptures, and created sound playgrounds, spatial music systems, and some 40 sound installations worldwide.^[5]

A pioneer of interactive sound sculpture in Australia, she has exhibited in many Australian city and regional centres, including her work Sound Playground in Brunswick, Melbourne in 1981.^[1] Making use of electronics, tapes and interactive playback systems, Bandt's compositions also feature environmental sounds and unusual instrument combinations.^[1][6] Bandt performs on a wide variety of instruments including recorders, psaltry, percussion and the tarhu.^[7][8] She is a founding member of ensembles LIME, Back to Back Zithers, La Romanesca, Carte Blanche and the Free Music Ensemble.^[9]

Awards

Don Banks Music Award

The Don Banks Music Award was established in 1984 to publicly honour a senior artist of high distinction who has made an outstanding and sustained contribution to music in Australia.^[10] It was founded by the Australia Council in honour of Don Banks, Australian composer, performer and the first chair of its music board.

Year	Nominee / work	Award	Result
1991	Ros Bandt	Don Banks Music Award	Won

Bandt was awarded the Cochrane Smith award for sound heritage in 2012 by the National Film and Sound Archive.^[11]

In 2020 Bandt was awarded the Richard Gill Award for Distinguished Services to Australian Music at the APRA Art Music Awards in recognition of her 40-year commitment to inter-disciplinary work.^[12]

Discography

• 1980 Love lyrics and romances of Renaissance Spain. La Romanesca. Move Records, MD 3034
• 1981 Improvisations in Acoustic Chambers Tank Pieces and Silo Pieces Move records MS 3035, MC 3035
• 1982 Soft and Fragile: Music in Glass and Clay Move Records MS 3045, MC 3045
• 1985 Clay Music. LIME. Move Records, MD 3065
• 1989 Stargazer Move Records MD 3075, MC 3075
• 1992 An Iberian Triangle: Music of Christian, Jewish and Moorish Spain before 1492. La Romanesca. Move Records MD 3114
• 1992 Quivering String. Back to Back Zithers. Move Records, MD 3141
• 1993 Footsteps Move Records, MD 3135
• 1995 Glass & Clay Move Records, MD 3045
• 1999 Via Frescobaldi. La Romaesca. Move Records, MD 3206
• 2001 Stack Move Records, MD 3145
• 2003 Sonic Archaeologies Move Records, MD 3155
• 2005 Monodies. La Romanesca. Move Records, MD 3044
• 2008 Isobue, Japanese Sea Whistle Sonic Art Gallery SG0801
• 2013 Jaara Jaara Seasons Hearing Places
• 2015 Bird Song - Trio Avium Hearing Places
• 2016 Tarhu connections Hearing Places

Selected publications

• 2001 Sound Sculpture, Intersections in Sound and Sculpture in Australian Artworks
• 2007 Hearing Places: Interdisciplinary Writings on Sound, Place, Time and Culture with Michelle Duffy and Dolly MacKinnon