Peter Knight (musician)

For other musicians of this name, see Peter Knight (disambiguation).

Dr. Peter Knight
Knight in 2014
Knight in 2014
Background information
Born (1965-03-12) 12 March 1965 (age 59)
Orbost, Australia
GenresJazz, Experimental
Occupation(s)Composer, Musician, Artistic director
Instrument(s)Trumpet, electronics
Years active1990–present

Peter Knight (born 12 March 1965) is an Australian musician, composer and producer. He was the Artistic Director and co-CEO of the Australian Art Orchestra from 2013 to 2023 and founding member of Melbourne group Way Out West.,[1] 5+2 Brass Ensemble, and Hand to Earth [2]

He is well known for his solo releases, 'Shadow Phase' (2022 ROOM40),[3] Fish Boast of Fishing (2011)[4] and Allotrope (2012) and composition for theatre in particular with performance maker Tamara Saulwick.[5]

More recently he has composed for film including Paul Goldman's feature Kid Snow which he composed with violinist Warren Ellis (musician). [6]

Early life

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Peter Knight grew up in Orbost in country Victoria then went to school in Melbourne. He started playing trumpet when he was at primary school.[7]

Career

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In collaboration

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Knight played trumpet and electric bass, in rock bands through his 20s including Cattletruck, which toured Australia extensively.[8] He also toured and recorded with Big Pig,[9] Frente,[10] Underground Lovers,[11] You Am I[12] Spiderbait and many others.

Knight formed Way Out West with Vietnamese born multi instrumentalist, Dung Nguyen, in 2002 with the intention of exploring jazz as a global language while simultaneously responding to Knight and Nguyen's local neighbourhood, Melbourne's inner west.[13] The band has since released four albums mostly of Knight's compositions. They have won numerous awards and nominations and have played at major music festivals including Montreal, Veneto and Vancouver jazz festivals.[14][15] Their most recent work '1988' premiered at The Substation in 2022 and was also presented as part of OzAsia Festival in 2023.[16]

Hand to Earth was formed with Indigenous song keepers, Daniel and David Wilfred from Ngukurr NT along with Korean-born vocalist, Sunny Kim (singer), and clarinetist, Aviva Endean. It was originally produced by Australian Art Orchestra when Knight was Artistic Director but in 2023 became an independent ensemble. [17] Since then the group has toured to venues in Australia and around the world. In 2022 it was nominated for an ARIA award for Best World Music Album for its self titled debut album released on AAO Recordings.[18] In 2023 it released MOKUY on the ROOM40 label run by Lawrence English who also produced the record.

2000-present: Solo career

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In the late 1990s he concentrated on jazz and released his debut album as leader of Peter Knight Quartet in 2001 Between Two Moments.[19][20] The album was positively received and the Quartet toured nationally.[21] He has since regularly released solo work including Fish Boast of Fishing, Allotrope, and Shadow Phase.

2013-2023: Australian Art Orchestra

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In 2013 Knight became Artistic Director of Australian Art Orchestra (AAO), following 20 years with the group's founder pianist and composer Paul Grabowsky.[22] Under Knight, the group has pursued a more contemporary direction, collaborating with a number of well respected international composers, including Canadian composer Nicole Lizée[23][24] and Japanese composer Keiichiro Shibuya.[25] The development of their collaborations with Australian indigenous musicians, and musicians from Asia has continued under Knight's direction receiving critical acclaim.[26] In 2014 and 2022 the group won the AMC Art Music Award for Organisation of the Year at the APRA Awards. [27]

In 2016 Knight won Albert H. Maggs Composition Award for his work Diomira inspired by [Italo Calvino] and his story of the same name. The winning work was commissioned by the Australian Art Orchestra and premiered at the Metropolis New Music Festival in May. This award came in the form of a commission to develop the piece into a full-length concert work.[28] Diomira was released on Hospital Hill in 2021 on an album called Crossed and Recrossed, which also includes a work called The Plains, inspired by author Gerald Murnane which premiered at [Jazztopad] in Poland in 2018 and received positive reviews. [29]

In 2017 Knight performed at the 14th Jazztopad festival in Poland during the Melting Pot concerts.[30][31]

At OzAsia 2017, Knight curated a concert program for the festival that saw the AAO collaborating with ghuzeng player Mindy Meng, Japanese composer Keiichiro Shibuya, p'ansori singer Bae Il Dong (Korea) and traditional songman from Arnhem Land, Daniel Wilfred.[32]

Projects with Tamara Saulwick

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Knight also works extensively with his partner, Tamara Saulwick, who is an internationally renowned performance maker and artistic director of Chamber Made Opera.[33] Together they have made a number of works: Pin Drop, which won a Green Room Award in 2010 for Outstanding Production in Alternative and Hybrid Performance and was nominated for Best Composition and Sound Design.[34] The pair was also commissioned by the ABC to turn this project into a radiophonic work[35]

Pin Drop toured Australia and also played in Glasgow at Tramway in 2014.[36]

Alterwas a performance using a constructed sound and light installation featuring 16 iPads (each participant used an iPad during the performance).[37] The piece was commissioned for the Festival of Live Art by Arts House.[38]

Seddon Archives was a headphone audio walk commissioned by Big West Festival.[39] Endings which won a 2016 Green Room Award[40] and toured through 2017-18 to Canadian Stage (Toronto), Brighton Festival (UK), Dublin Theatre Festival,[41] pUsh Festival Vancouver[42] and On the Boards (Seattle). The ABC commissioned a radiophonic version of Endings in 2016.[43] In 2022 the pair premiered a new work at The Substation in Melbourne. My Self In That Moment, made with Chamber Made, is an audio-visual work for 49 tablets and live voice (Jessica Aszodi and Tina Stefanou alternately). The work, "takes a dystopian view of the lost soul of the self in the digital age" [44]

Academic achievements

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In 2003, Knight was awarded the Alan C. Rose Memorial Fund Project Scholarship.[45] In 2004, the Keith and Elizabeth Travelling Fellowship.[45] In 2006 he received a Myer Foundation grant for new sound installation work with Double Venturi.[45] In 2007, he received a Griffith University full scholarship for doctoral studies in composition and a Tom and Isobel Rolston Scholarship Banff Centre for the Arts.[45]

Knight holds an MMus Master in Music Performance from University of Melbourne (VCA) and is also a Doctor of Musical Arts, which was awarded by Queensland of Conservatorium Griffith University QCGU. In 2013 he was awarded QCGU Alumnus of the Year.[46]

In 2013, he was granted the Australia Council Music Fellowship (for 2013/14).[47]

In 2014 Knight was a Music Omi musician in residence at Omi International Arts Center, Hudson, New York.[48]

Discography

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Solo albums

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Title Details
Between Two Moments
(as Peter Knight Quartet)
  • Released: 2002[49]
  • Format: CD, digital download
All the Gravitation of Silence
  • Released: 2006[50]
  • Format: CD, digital download
Residual
(with Dung Nguyen)
  • Released: May 2011[51]
  • Label: Parenthèses Records
  • Format: CD, digital download
Fish Boast of Fishing
  • Released: 2011[52]
  • Label: Listen Hear Collective
  • Format: CD, digital download
Allotrope
  • Released: 2012[53]
  • Label: Peter Knight
  • Format: CD, digital download
Re-Residual
  • Released: October 2014[54]
  • Format: CD, digital download
  • Remix album
Daughter's Fever
(with Grand Salvo)
  • Released: 2015[55]
  • Label: Peter Knight
  • Format: CD, digital download
Way Out West
(with various artists)
  • Released: June 2016[56]
  • Label: Peter Knight
  • Format: CD, digital download
Peter Knight
(Australian Art Orchestra)
  • Released: September 2021[57]
  • Label: Peter Knight
  • Format: CD, digital download
Shadow Phase
(with various artists)
  • Released: October 2021[58]
  • Label: Room40
  • Format: LP, digital download

See also

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Awards and nominations

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AIR Awards

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The Australian Independent Record Awards (commonly known informally as AIR Awards) is an annual awards night to recognise, promote and celebrate the success of Australia's Independent Music sector.[59][60][61]

Year Nominee / work Award Result
2012 Fish Boast of Fishing Best Independent Jazz Album Won

Albert H. Maggs Composition Award

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The Albert H. Maggs Composition Award is a commission-based Australian classical composition award given in order to "encourage and assist composers who might otherwise abandon their efforts for want of means". They commenced in 1966.[62]

Year Nominee / work Award Result
2016 Himself for Diomira Albert H. Maggs Composition Award Won

APRA Awards

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The APRA Awards are presented annually from 1982 by the Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA), "honouring composers and songwriters".[63][64][65][66][67]

Year Nominee / work Award Result
2008 "Postcard from Footscray" Jazz Work of the Year Nominated
2012 "Unknownness 1" Jazz Work of the Year Nominated
2015 himself Award for Excellence in Jazz Nominated
Award for Excellence by an Individual Nominated
2016 himself Award for Excellence by an Individual Nominated
2017 "Diomira" (performed by Australian Art Orchestra) Instrumental Work of the Year Nominated
2020 "The Plains" (performed by Australian Art Orchestra) Performance of the Year: Jazz / Improvised Music Nominated
2021 Closed Beginnings (Knight, Tariro Mavondo, Reuben Lewis) for Mavondo (poetry), Lewis and Knight (music), Jem Savage (sound production), Leo Dale (video production) Work of the Year: Electroacoustic/Sound Art[68] Won

ARIA Music Awards

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The ARIA Music Awards is an annual ceremony presented by Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA), which recognise excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of the music of Australia. They commenced in 1987.

Year Nominee / work Award Result Ref.
2021 Closed Beginnings (with Australian Art Orchestra, Reuben Lewis and Tariro Mavondo) Best Jazz Album Nominated [69]
2022 Hand to Earth (with Australian Art Orchestra, Daniel Wilfred, Sunny Kim & Aviva Endean) Best World Music Album Nominated [70]

Australian Jazz Bell Awards

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The Australian Jazz Bell Awards are annual music awards for the jazz music genre in Australia. They were named in honour of Australian jazz pianist, composer and band leader, Graeme Bell (1914–2012).[71]

Year Nominee / work Award Result
2012 Fish Boast of Fishing Most Original Australian Jazz Album Won

Green Room Awards

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The Green Room Awards are peer awards which recognise excellence in cabaret, dance, drama, fringe theatre, musical theatre and opera in Melbourne.[72][73][74][75]

Year Nominee / work Award Result
2011 Pin Drop (with Tamara Saulwick) Best Composition and Sound Design Nominated
2016 Endings (with Tamara Saulwick) Green Room Theatre Award Won

Helpmann Awards

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The Helpmann Awards are accolades for live entertainment and performing arts in Australia, presented by industry group Live Performance Australia.[76]

Year Nominee / work Award Result
2015 Endings (with Tamara Saulwick) Best New Australian Work Nominated

Music Victoria Awards

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The Music Victoria Awards, are an annual awards night celebrating Victorian music. They commenced in 2005.

Year Nominee / work Award Result Ref.
2016 Way Out West Best Jazz Album Won [77][78]
2022 Peter Knight Best Jazz Work Nominated [79][80]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Knight, Peter. "An Orchestra of Individuals". Australian Music Centre. Retrieved 24 May 2024.
  2. ^ Baker Fish, Bob (21 September 2023). "Listen to the incredible new music of Hand To Earth". Cyclic Defrost. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
  3. ^ "Video premiere: The Softened Shore Peter Knight". Headphone Commute. 3 August 2022. Retrieved 19 May 2024.
  4. ^ Spicer, Daniel. "Review of Peter Knight - Fish Boast of Fishing". Music. BBC. Retrieved 13 January 2018.
  5. ^ "Workshop: SPOTLIGHT FORUM - THE DRAMATURGY OF SOUND IN LIVE PERFORMANCE with Tamara Saulwick + Peter Knight, Canadian Stage". TAPA. 4 April 2017. Retrieved 15 January 2018.[dead link‍]
  6. ^ "Kid Snow". Sydney Film Festival. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  7. ^ Bartleet, Brydie-Leigh; Ellis, Carolyn, eds. (2009). Music autoethnographies: making autoethnography sing : making music personal. Bowen Hills, Qld.: Australian Academic Press. pp. chapter 4. ISBN 9781921513404.
  8. ^ "Cattletruck Band". Web.facebook.com. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
  9. ^ Bonk (Media notes). Big Pig. White Label. 1988.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  10. ^ "Frente! - Marvin The Album". Discogs. 1994. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
  11. ^ "Underground Lovers - Ways T'Burn". Discogs. 1997. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
  12. ^ "You Am I - Convicts". Discogs. 13 May 2006. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
  13. ^ "Peter Knight: I live in Melbourne's inner west and the Way Out West music is a response to that neighbourhood - AustralianJazz.net". AustralianJazz.net. 31 August 2017. Retrieved 13 January 2018.
  14. ^ "Way out West (Melbourne/Sydney) – CD Launch – Melbourne Jazz Co-op". mjc.org.au. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
  15. ^ "Way Out West live in Japan footage - virtualWOMEX". Womex.com. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
  16. ^ "1988". Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  17. ^ "Hand to Earth". Retrieved 20 May 2024.
  18. ^ "2022 ARIA Awards Winners". Retrieved 20 May 2024.
  19. ^ "Between Two Moments - Peter Knight | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
  20. ^ Zolin, Miriam (15 December 2005). "Peter Knight's Invisible Cities". All About Jazz. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
  21. ^ "Peter Knight Quartet review excerpts". Retrieved 15 January 2018 – via peterknightmusic.com.
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  27. ^ Briggs, Maddy (1 September 2022). "Winners of the 2022 Art Music Awards Announced | Limelight". Limelight Music Arts and Culture. Retrieved 19 May 2024.
  28. ^ "2016 Albert H Maggs Award to Peter Knight : News (AMC) Article : Australian Music Centre". Australianmusiccentre.com.au. Retrieved 13 January 2018.
  29. ^ "Peter Knight and the Australian Art Orchestra Crossed and Recrossed Jazwise". Retrieved 13 January 2018.
  30. ^ Bolte, Henning (13 December 2017). "Jazztopad Festival 2017". All About Jazz. Retrieved 13 January 2018.
  31. ^ Grady, Spencer. "Headliners Huff-N-Puff As Tomeka Reid Shines At Jazztopad". Retrieved 13 January 2018.
  32. ^ "OzAsia's 2017 Program Peeks into the Future". The Adelaide Review. 26 July 2017. Retrieved 13 January 2018.
  33. ^ "HOME". Tamara Saulwick. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
  34. ^ "Pin drop : electroacoustic by Peter Knight : Work : Australian Music Centre". Australianmusiccentre.com.au. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
  35. ^ "Pin Drop". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 8 August 2013. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
  36. ^ "Pin Drop". Tramway.org. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
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  38. ^ "Melbourne's Festival of Live Art announces 2016 programme - Limelight". Limelight. Retrieved 21 January 2018.
  39. ^ "Seddon Archives". Tamara Saulwick. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
  40. ^ "33rd Annual Green Room Awards | Stage Whispers". Stagewhispers.com.au. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
  41. ^ "DUBLIN THEATRE FESTIVAL: Endings – Project Arts Centre, Dublin". The Reviews Hub. 15 October 2017. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
  42. ^ "The Events - PuSh Festival". PuSh Festival. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
  43. ^ "Endings". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 19 January 2017. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
  44. ^ "With My Self in That Moment, Chamber Made gives us a dystopian view of our lost soul in the digital age". The Conversation. 29 July 2022. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
  45. ^ a b c d "Peter Knight | Australian Jazz Real Book". australianjazzrealbook.com. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
  46. ^ "Queensland Conservatorium Alumnus of the Year". Griffith.edu.au. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
  47. ^ "Australia Council fellowships to Erik Griswold and Peter Knight : News (Australian) Article : Australian Music Centre". Australianmusiccentre.com.au. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
  48. ^ "Announcing this years 2014 Music Omi Musicians-In-Residence! | Hudson, New York". IMBY | Hudson, New York. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
  49. ^ "Between Two Moments". Apple Music. 2002. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
  50. ^ "All the Gravitation of Silence". bandcamp. 2006. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
  51. ^ "Residual, by Peter Knight & Dung Nguyen". Parenthèses Records. Retrieved 19 January 2018.
  52. ^ "Fish Boast of Fishing (DD)". bandcamp. 2011. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
  53. ^ "Allotrope (DD)". Bandcamp. 2012. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
  54. ^ "Re: Residual". Parenthèses Records. October 2014. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
  55. ^ "Daughter's Fever (DD)". Bandcamp. 2012. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
  56. ^ "Way Out West (DD)". Apple Music. June 2016. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
  57. ^ "Peter Knight Australian Art Orchestra (DD)". Bandcamp=September 2021. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  58. ^ "Digital Audio Album: Shadow Phase / Peter Knight. [2022] : Product : Australian Music Centre". www.australianmusiccentre.com.au. Retrieved 19 October 2022.
  59. ^ "NOMINATIONS: 2012 Jagermeister Independent Music Awards". Australian Independent Record Labels Association. 17 September 2012. Retrieved 20 August 2020.
  60. ^ "History Wins". Australian Independent Record Labels Association. Retrieved 20 August 2020.
  61. ^ "2012 Independent Music Award nominees". FasterLouder. 17 September 2012. Archived from the original on 16 January 2018. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
  62. ^ "2016 Albert H Maggs Composition Award winner announced". Precinct. 6 November 2016. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
  63. ^ "APRA History". Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) | Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society (AMCOS). Archived from the original on 20 September 2010. Retrieved 17 January 2011.
  64. ^ "Jazz Work of the Year". Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA). Retrieved 24 April 2010.
  65. ^ "2012 Work of the Year – Jazz". Australasian Performing Right Association. Archived from the original on 14 May 2012. Retrieved 28 May 2012.
  66. ^ "Award for Excellence by an Individual". Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) | Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society (AMCOS) | Australian Music Centre (AMC). 2016. Archived from the original on 11 October 2016. Retrieved 4 September 2016.
  67. ^ "2017 Art Music Awards: finalists announced : News (Australian) Article : Australian Music Centre". Australianmusiccentre.com.au. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
  68. ^ "Winners & Finalists". APRA AMCOS | Australian Music Centre (AMC). 9 September 2021. Retrieved 9 September 2021.
  69. ^ Kelly, Vivienne (20 October 2021). "ARIA Awards nominees revealed: Amy Shark & Genesis Owusu lead the charge". The Music Network. Archived from the original on 20 October 2021. Retrieved 24 October 2021.
  70. ^ Lars Brandle (12 October 2022). "Rüfüs Du Sol Leads 2022 ARIA Awards Nominees (Full List)". The Music Network. Retrieved 12 October 2022.
  71. ^ "Trumpeter Peter Knight wins Bell Award - The International Trumpet Guild". Retrieved 13 January 2018.
  72. ^ "36th Green Room Awards Winners have been announced!". Green Room Awards. Retrieved 24 November 2019.
  73. ^ Bennett, Sally (21 February 2012). "Malthouse Theatre cleans up nominations for Green Room Awards". Herald Sun. Sydney. Retrieved 24 November 2019.
  74. ^ "Green Room Awards 2016 - Nominations | Stage Whispers". Stagewhispers.com.au. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
  75. ^ "33rd Annual Green Room Awards announced". Australian Arts Review. 21 March 2016. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
  76. ^ "Helpmann Awards Nominations 2015: Here's the full list | News". AussieTheatre.com. 23 June 2015. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
  77. ^ "Previous Winners". Music Victoria. Retrieved 13 August 2020.
  78. ^ "Recipients of The Age Music Victoria Awards 2016 announced". creative.vic.gov.au. Retrieved 13 January 2018.
  79. ^ "Music Victoria Awards 2022 Nominees for Industry-Voted Categories Announced". Music Victoria. 27 October 2022. Retrieved 29 October 2022.
  80. ^ "Music Victoria Awards 2022 Winners". Scenestr. 13 December 2022. Retrieved 15 December 2022.
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