ANDREW BALL

Andrew Ball is a composer and saxophonist based in Brisbane, Australia. With a bold and unique compositional voice, described as highly kinetic, visceral, rhythmically intricate and harmonically colourful, Andrew draws inspiration from an eclectic variety of jazz and improvised music, contemporary classical, avant-garde, and electronic musics. His unique approach to composition deliberately extends the limits of instruments and their performers, and aims to challenge attitudes and ideologies surrounding context and genre.

Most recently, Andrew has completed large-scale commissions for ensembles including The Australia Ensemble, Hourglass Ensemble, Australian Saxophone Orchestra, Collusion, and Queensland Youth Orchestras. Andrew is resident composer and saxophonist with the Barega Saxophone Quartet, new-wave brass band Bullhorn, Nomika, and Cheap Fakes. In 2017, Andrew launched his solo project with the release of his album Forbidden Languages (through Made Now Music), a suite of genre-defying original works for extended and prepared saxophones. He has toured this project to the World Sax Congress XVIII in Zagreb 2018, and throughout Australia at the Melbourne International Saxophone Festival 2018, Tilde New Music Festival 2017, and the Super Sounds Festival in Brisbane 2019. Internationally, Andrew has premiered compositions in France, Scotland, Italy, and Greece, including at the three previous World Sax Congresses with various ensembles. His playing and composition can also be heard on a number of recent releases: Cheap Fakes’ 2018 album Deep Space, Nomika’s 2018 EP Motion, Barega Sax Quartet’s 2017 album Abandon Control featuring new Australian commissions. His music can also be found on previous releases by the Queensland Saxophone Orchestra, Collusion Music, Bullhorn, Barega SQ, Laura Mulcahy, and His Merry Men.

Samples of Andrew’s work can be found here.

Andrew enjoys a diverse career as a saxophonist, composer and educator. As a saxophonist, he holds his L.Mus.A with distinction, and B.Mus with First Class Honours. Andrew has appeared in performances alongside artists including Laurie Anderson, Natalie Cole, Ash Grunwald, Pub Choir, Kupkas Piano, and as a concert soloist with both the Queensland Wind Orchestra and Divertimenti Strings. Andrew was selected to attend the 22nd annual Université Européenne de Saxophone in Gap, France, and has featured multiple times as both a performer and composer at the World Saxophone Congress (St Andrews, Scotland 2012; Strasbourg, France 2015; Zagreb, Croatia 2018).

A number of exciting new works are on the boil… stay tuned for more information! Andrew is available to consider commissions and collaborations.