Bryan Griffiths
Higher Degree by Research Candidate
Elder Conservatorium of Music
Faculty of Arts, Business, Law and Economics
Bryan Griffiths is a conductor with extensive experience across professional, educational and community music spheres. Specialising in wind ensembles, he is also proficient in orchestral and chamber music, having conducted the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, the Band of the South Australian Police, the Adelaide Youth Orchestra, the New Adelaide Ensemble, Unley Concert Band and the Adelaide Summer Orchestra of which he was co-founder. In 2019, he was appointed Principal Conductor of the Adelaide Wind Orchestra, who record for Brolga Music Australia and are scheduled to release their debut album in late 2022. He is the current director of the Wind Orchestra at the Elder Conservatorium, where he also lectures in assorted ensemble and performance classes and adjudicates auditions.
My research aims to investigate, evaluate, and ultimately construct a canon of Australian wind band compositions. Despite witnessing a burgeoning of compositions by local composers over the last several decades, the Australian wind band movement presently lacks a collective sense of what our incarnation of the wind band might be, where it is headed, and in what ways it is distinct from its more notable American, European, and Japanese counterparts. This is due, in large part, to the relative absence of research about, advocacy for, and transmission of local wind band music. Accordingly, the main objective of my project is to establish a canon of works that can be considered as best representative of the Australian wind band movement. Those works identified as canonic will not only be examined in terms of their significance and historic-social contexts, but also with respect to their performative considerations that are important for conductors and instrumentalists in their preparation. These works will then be presented in public recitals, filmed, and digitally uploaded, aiding their circulation across both the Australian and international wind band contexts.
| Date | Position | Institution name |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 - ongoing | Director, Elder Conservatorium Wind Orchestra | University of Adelaide |
| 2019 - 2021 | Director, Adelaide Youth Wind Orchestra | Adelaide Youth Orchestras |
| 2019 - ongoing | Presenter & Clinician | Australian Band and Orchestra Director's Assoiation |
| 2019 - ongoing | Casual Lecturer | University of Adelaide |
| 2019 - ongoing | Music Director | Adelaide Wind Orchestra |
| 2019 - 2021 | Associate Conductor | Adelaide Youth Orchestras |
| 2018 - 2018 | Music Director | Unley Concert Band |
| 2016 - 2018 | Music Director | Adelaide Summer Orchestra |
| 2015 - 2015 | Ensemble Director, Horn Tutor, Solo Artist, Chamber Music Recialist | Universidade Federal de Santa Maria |
| 2013 - 2013 | Music Director | Adelaide Summer Orchestra |
| 2012 - 2015 | Director, Adelaide Youth Wind Orchestra | Adelaide Youth Orchestras |
| 2010 - 2015 | French Horn (tutti) | Adelaide Symphony Orchestra |
| Date | Institution name | Country | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 - 2010 | University of Adelaide | Australia | Bachelor of Music (classical performance) (First Class Honours) |
| 2015 - 2017 | University of Sydney | Australia | Master of Music (wind conducting) |
| Year | Citation |
|---|---|
| 2020 | Griffiths, B. (2020). Nigel Butterley’s Pentad (1968). A Unique Composition for Woodwind and Brass. Estudios Bandísticos, 4, 73-89. |
| Year | Citation |
|---|---|
| 2017 | Griffiths, B. (2017). Investigation into Nigel Butterley's Pentad. (Master's Thesis, The University of Sydney). |
| Date | Tutored | Directed | Course Title | Institution | Course Level/ Code | URL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022-ongoing | x | Elder Conservatorium Wind Orchestra | University of Adelaide | MUSGEN 1201-3202 | Link | |
| 2019-ongoing | x | Elder Conservatorium Symphony Orchestra | University of Adelaide | MUSGEN 1201-3202 | Link | |
| 2019-2021 | x | Elder Conservatorium Brass Ensemble | University of Adelaide | MUSGEN 1201-3202 | Link | |
| 2019-2021 | x | Chamber Music 1A-3B | University of Adelaide | ENS 1030-3031 | Link |
| Date | Role | Committee | Institution | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 - ongoing | Board Member | South Australian Music Camp Committee | South Australian Music Camp | Australia |