Paul Grabowsky is a pianist and composer, arranger, conductor, and arranger. He is also a conductor. Paul Grabowsky was born in Lae, Papua New Guinea, in 1958. He was raised in Melbourne, where he attended Wesley College. He was a prominent figure in Melbourne’s music scene during the 1970s, where he worked in various cabaret, jazz, and theater projects. From 1980 to 1985, he lived in Europe and the USA, where he performed alongside many jazz legends, including Art Farmer, Chet Baker and Johnny Griffin. In 1986, he returned to Australia and quickly established himself as one of Australia’s most respected jazz musicians. He was a member of the Wizards of Oz’s trio and sextet as well as being the musical director for Vince Jones. From 1990 to 1992, he was the musical director for Tonight Live with Steve Vizard. He has composed the music for more than twenty feature films in Australia and the UK, including Last Orders (Fred Schepisi), Innocence (Paul Cox), Shiner (John Irvin). Clara Law, Nadia Tass, and Gillian Armstrong are just a few of the other filmmakers with whom he has collaborated. He is known for his television work on the Emmy-winning series Empire Falls and Janus. Two operas and other multimedia pieces are two of his works for the theatre. He is also the founder and AD for the Australian Art Orchestra. They tour both nationally and internationally. Paul is a passionate advocate for collaborations with indigenous and traditional performers. Two of his many CDs are for the Hush series, which he is Artistic director. These CDs were created to help the healing process at Melbourne Children’s Hospital. He has received four ARIA awards and two Helpmann awards. He was named Sydney Myer Performing artist of the year in 2000 and received the Melbourne Prize for Music 2007. From 2005 to 2007, he was the Queensland Music Festival’s Artistic Director. He also directed the 2010 Adelaide Festival. He is the current Artistic Director for the 2012 Adelaide Festival. He performs regularly with his trio, quartet, and sextet performing mainly his own compositions. from http://paulgrabowsky.com
