Emeritus Professor
Andy Arthurs
Faculty of Creative Industries, Education & Social Justice,
School of Creative Practice,
Music
Biography
BackgroundBorn in Cheltenham, England, Andy Arthurs attended the University of Surrey (1970-1974) where he was the first person to gain a recording degree in the UK.
His professional career began at AIR studios, London (1971-1975) working with the production team who produced the Beatles and, in particular, producer and mentor George Martin.Arthurs spent 15 years from 1975 in the UK as:
- a freelance recording producer
- sound designer
- composer
- recording artist.
He was part of the recording team for many top artists including:
- Tod Rungren
- Paul McCartney
- Bryan Ferry
- Marc Bolan
- Harry Nilsson
- Cat Stevens
- ELO
- Waterboys
- Tom Robinson
- Noosha Fox
- Stanley Holloway
- Peter Sellars.
He also worked on numerous commercials and films including the Bond film Live and Let Die.
Career highlights
1984 - 1990
After working with John Cage and Merce Cunningham on the International Course for Choreographers and Composers in the UK, Arthurs was one of the first sample-based composers.
This culminated in his founding the multimedia group La Bouche with Philip Chambon and DV8 choreographer, Lloyd Newson. The group was signed to CBS/Sony.
He wrote the music for Kenneth Anger's classic movie Rabbit's Moon.1991- present
Arthurs' move to Australia heralded a change of career. He is currently on the management team of the Independent Music Project at QUT and Bid Leader for a proposed CRC for Arts and Entertainment Futures (chair Michael Lynch).
He was a major contributor to Sounds in Space, Sounds in Time with Richard Vella.
He is a regular composer for Theatre, Dance and TV. His most recent project The Deep Blue Orchestra emerges from his research with Darren Clark.
Research projects
- 2004 - present: Artistic producer of The Deep Blue Orchestra, an internationally travelled group which is part band, part orchestra and part movie.
- 2009 - 2011: 1st named Chief Investigator (CI) in ARC Linkage research project investigating the value of "Remote Musical Interactions".
- 2005 - 2007: 1st named CI in ARC linkage project, "The sustainable 21st Century Orchestra". Partners with QUT Creative Industries are Creative Media Warehouse, The Queensland Orchestra and The Brisbane Festival.
- 2002: Co-producer the REV Festival of international, experimental music at the Brisbane Powerhouse.
- 1997 - 2008: Composer of soundscapes for five Queensland Theatre Company's productions.
- 2005: Co-producer of The Ten Tenors CDs Larger Than Life and Tenology (Australia: platinum; USA: top ten.)
- 2004 - 2005: Chief Investigator/Sound Designer in ARC iCinema Project with Jeffery Shaw.
Personal details
Positions
- Emeritus Professor
Faculty of Creative Industries, Education & Social Justice,
School of Creative Practice,
Music
Keywords
Composing for film & TV, Music, Production of music events, Sound and music composition and recording, Sound media
Research field
Performing Arts and Creative Writing
Field of Research code, Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classification (ANZSRC), 2008
Qualifications
- BMusTonmeister(Hons) (University of Surrey)
Professional memberships and associations
- 2006 - present: Board member - Brisbane Powerhouse
- 2006 - 2010: Music board member - Australia Council
- 2007 - 2009: Member - Australian Federal Education Ministers Music Advisory Board
- 1998 - 2008: Music Council of Australia representing Experimental Music
- 2005: Steering Group for Australian National Review of School Music
- 2004 - 2005: Board member - The Queensland Orchestra
- 2000 - 2003: Chair - Arts Queensland Performance & Multimedia panel
- 2000 - 2002: Chair - National Council of Tertiary Music Schools.
Publications
QUT ePrints
For more publications by Andy, explore their research in QUT ePrints (our digital repository).