Timothy’s keen interest in a variety of musical styles and genres has provided him with the knowledge and ability to compose in an extraordinary range of styles and genres. From pastiche of art music styles to electronic ambient music; from pop songs to school anthems, Timothy has regularly demonstrated his ability to compose in a plethora of musical styles.
Recent music commissions include:
- Spoken Words Broken Swords
For the public memorial for Australian actor and playwright, Bille Brown, Timothy was commissioned to compose underscoring music as the poem Spoken Words Broken Swords was recited by the poet, Bréon George Rydell. Bréon was a close personal friend of Bille Brown and Timothy used the text of Bréon’s poem as inspiration for his orchestral underscore. View the performance video.
- Spirit of Place
Timothy was commissioned by the Department of Veterans Affairs to compose 8 minutes of music to signal the commencement of the Dawn Service at Anzac Cove, Gallipoli, Turkey at the 100th anniversary service of the Gallipoli Landings. This music was performed just prior to the Dawn Service on 25 April 2015. Timothy conducted an archival recording of the score, featuring musicians from the Queensland Youth Orchestra, which can be heard on the link. - Searchlights
Searchlights was commissioned by the Townsville chapter of the Kodály Music Education Institute of Australia (KMEIA) for the 2015 Festival of the Voice. When searching for a suitable text to provide to festival composer, Timothy Sherlock, the chapter committee came across this remarkable radio transcript which forms part of the heritage resources curated at the Jezzine Barracks, Townsville. The text comes from a 1942 radio transcript of two ABC journalists, Dudley Leggett and Chester Wilmot, providing live commentary as Japanese planes flew over Townsville. Townsville, an important military base, was raided by Japanese Kawanishi H8K1 “Emily” flying boats operating from Rabaul on four occasions in late July of 1942. On the night of the 25th of July, the town was attacked by two flying boats but did not suffer any damage as the bombs dropped by these aircraft fell into the sea. The transcript text taken from the radio broadcast on this night is as follows:The sky is criss-crossed with searchlights, a most magnificent sight. The plane is held in the light absolutely dead above us. And it’s heading out now westward right above the town. The searchlights are holding it absolutely, perfectly in all beams and from all sides, and at the moment, I can see one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve… more than a dozen searchlights.Composed for mixed choir, piano, cello and handchimes, this setting of the 1942 wartime radio transcript portrays the chilling beauty of the searchlights focused on the mysterious danger suspended above the town. - We Are The Future, scored for SAB choir, piano and hand chimes, was commissioned by the Queensland chapter of the Kodály Music Education Institute of Australia (KMEIA) for the 2016 national conference to be held in Brisbane in September.
- So Let Us Sing!, scored for SSA choir with optional baritone part, was commissioned by ANCA QLD for the 2017 ANCA ChoralFest in Brisbane in June. The world premiere of the work took place at ChoralFest’s opening concert complete with a massed choir in St John’s Cathedral.
Contact Timothy to discuss his availability, and the style/genre/instruments of the music you would like composed.