George Ellis (composer)
George Ellis | |
---|---|
Background information | |
Also known as | The Big G |
Born | Penrith, New South Wales, Australia | 12 February 1964
Origin | Sydney, Australia |
Genres | Orchestral music, classical music, popular music (pop/rock), jazz, disco |
Occupation(s) | Conductor, composer, crchestrator, musical arranger, education concert presenter |
Instrument(s) | Piano, cello, guitar, bass guitar, drums |
Years active | 1990–present |
Website | www |
George Ellis (born 12 February 1964) is an Australian
Early years
George Ellis was born in
Education
Ellis completed the Higher School Certificate at Fort Street High School in Sydney's inner west. After The Affections disbanded, he then pursued the study of classical music full-time at the
Conducting work
Upon return to Sydney from the United States in the early 1990s, Ellis made the finals of the inaugural ABC Young Conductors Mastercourse (1994) and was invited to conduct
In 1999, Ellis auditioned for the Sydney Organising Committee for the
Ellis was the musical director of the Australia Day concerts held by the
In 2007, Ellis was musical director of the Belvoir Street production of
In 2010, Ellis was musical director of the Production Company's Sugar (Some Like It Hot)
In 2013, Ellis conducted the world premiere of the Australian opera Somewhere Between the Sun and the Sky by Sophie Spargo and in 2014, he conducted performances of the American opera Little Women by Marc Adamo – both at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music.
He has been the musical director of the Greek Festival of Sydney orchestral and choral concerts featuring international soloists Dimitris Basis and Vasilis Lekkas at City Recital Hall, Sydney (2015–2019). In 2019, the festival toured nationally including Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Darwin.[10] Ellis conducted national tours of Beatles Orchestrated (2016 to 2018) and performed the show at the Lost Picnic festival at the Domain, Sydney (2017). He has also been musical director of the Canberra Symphony Orchestra Symphony In the Park concerts featuring music by Queen, Fleetwood Mac,[13] ABBA and the Bee Gees (2017–2019), with audiences of over 15,000 at each concert.
He performed in the orchestra he put together for the
Ellis was appointed chief conductor of the Australian Session Orchestra (2019). He was appointed orchestral musical director of the Hooked on Classics concerts at the Sydney Opera House, Hamer Hall in Melbourne and Newcastle Civic Theatre (2019). He also conducted the orchestral Love Will Steer the Stars concert celebrating the 50th anniversary of the music of 1969 and A Tribute to George Michael (2019.) In 2020 he put together the orchestral performance of Sydney Rococo by Steve Kilbey, of rock band The Church, at City Recital Hall for the Sydney Festival.
Since 2020, the George Ellis Orchestra has performed around Australia for Metropolis Touring - presenting the orchestrated music of
In 2021, George Ellis arranged the music and was Musical Director of the NRL Grand Final entertainment at Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane – where he worked with Ian Moss, from Cold Chisel, and Kate Miller-Heidke.[18]
In 2022, he conducted Australian singer/songwriter Lior in a concert with the Canberra Symphony Orchestra featuring his latest compositions.[19]
Composition and screen
In 1990, Ellis' Pop Mass received first prize in the Orchestral and Choral Composition section of
Orchestral arrangements
Ellis has done orchestrations for live performances and studio recordings for artists including Josh Pyke with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Kate Miller-Heidke, Megan Washington, Alex Lloyd, The Church, Steve Kilbey, Caroline O'Connor and for tribute concerts including the music of The Beatles, David Bowie, Queen, Fleetwood Mac, George Michael, Roy Orbison, ABBA and the Bee Gees.
Education concerts
Ellis was musical director of the Sydney Opera House Proms concerts (2002–2010) presenting over 1,000 performances of various themes for young audiences using the persona "The Big G". He has presented education concerts for various orchestras around Australia including the Canberra Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra Victoria and Willoughby Symphony Orchestra (Mini Maestros series). He has presented the Pops for Tots concerts every year since 2000 for the Penrith Symphony Orchestra. Ellis has created new orchestral concerts including The Conductor and The Clown,[11] The Maestro and the Magician, Mozart vs Beethoven, Musical Opposites, A Musical Theatre Journey Through the Orchestra, Beatles Orchestrated for Kids, and Tommy and the Magical Bell. Mimi's Symphony – an orchestral story for children, written in collaboration with Justine Clarke, contains original music by Ellis (2019).[23][24]
Awards
Ellis received Student of the Year at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music (1987). His composition Pop Mass received First Prize in the Orchestral and Choral section of the Sydney Eisteddfod (1990). His Archibald Prize portrait, painted by Evert Ploeg, received the People's Choice Award at the Art Gallery of New South Wales (2007).[25]
Personal life
Ellis has lived in Sydney all his life except Pittsburgh, USA (1988), Boulder, Colorado (1989–1990), Canberra (1993–1994) and Melbourne (2002). He spent three months in Greece working in the music department for the Athens Olympic Games (2004). He currently lives in the inner west of Sydney. He was married to Michele Pleffer (1991–2015) who met as undergraduate students at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. They wrote a musical together called Matters of Consequence,[26] based on the story of "The Little Prince", which was presented at the Tom Mann Theatre, Sydney, for Ellis's graduating recital. He then had a relationship with Australian soprano Bridget Patterson (2016–2019) who performed as vocal soloist for many of his concerts including at the Sydney Opera House and Hamer Hall, Melbourne. They appeared on screen together in the Bruce Beresford film Ladies in Black (2018). He has two children with his ex-wife Michele.[27]
References
- ^ a b "Kafedaki with George Ellis – Greek City Times". greekcitytimes.com.
- ^ "The Affections | Australian Music Database". www.australianmusicdatabase.com.
- ^ "Affections, The | Nostalgia Central".
- ^ "Maestro conductor serves Greek treats". www.dailytelegraph.com.au. 31 July 2013.
- ^ Mamouzelos, Gina. "Kafedaki with George Ellis".
- ^ "Conducting". The University of Sydney.
- ^ "George Ellis : Represented Artist Profile : Australian Music Centre". www.australianmusiccentre.com.au.
- ^ "Conductor George Ellis on the 'musical energy' he gets from his Greek heritage". www.greekherald.com.au.
- ^ Cotsis, Billy (5 May 2015). "The magic of George Ellis". NEOS KOSMOS.
- ^ a b "Greek Orthodox Community of Melbourne and Victoria – Romiosini and Beyond". www.greekcommunity.com.au.
- ^ a b c d "AusStage". www.ausstage.edu.au.
- ^ "The Church: A Psychedelic Symphony".
- ^ "Symphony in the Park: Rumours". 29 November 2019.
- ^ Johnson, Travis (29 November 2016). "Hans Zimmer Announces Australian Stadium Tour For 2017".
- ^ "Interview: Musical Director George Ellis and iOTA Talk About Queen". 19 March 2021.
- ^ "Interview: Jeff Duff And Musical Director George Ellis Talk About Music Legend David Bowie". 17 March 2021.
- ^ "Fleetwood to the max". 8 March 2021.
- ^ "George Ellis on orchestrating the music for the NRL Grand Final entertainment". 10 October 2021.
- ^ "Symphony in the Park 2022".
- ^ "Conductors". www.pso.org.au.
- ^ "George ELLIS".
- ^ "Photo Album: Mimi's Symphony". City Recital Hall.
- ^ "George Ellis: Bringing Classical Music to the Masses". 24 November 2019.
- ^ "4 upcoming orchestra performances, specially for kids!". Kinderling Kids Radio — music for children and families.
- ^ "Archibald Prize Archibald 2007 finalist: George Ellis by Evert Ploeg". www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au.
- ^ "Score: Matters of consequence / by George Ellis. : Product : Australian Music Centre". www.australianmusiccentre.com.au. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
- ^ "Dad in profile: George Ellis". bodyandsoulau. 11 October 2009. Retrieved 15 May 2021.