Georgina Bowden | Composer & Artist

Georgina Bowden is a British-born composer and artist. Resident in Australia since 2020, her current work has been born of her obsession with vivid sounds, colours and concepts relating to Australian nature. Her creative work combines performed music, art and architecture. She has a Master’s of Architecture from Cardiff University and a Master's of Music from Trinity Laban Conservatoire, and her works have been performed across the UK and internationally.

Multimedia work 'Wild Colour' was performed in Czechia for the Ostrava Days Contemporary Music Festival, and her earlier choral work 'The Fainting Sun' released in 2022 on their label. In the last year, Georgina was shortlisted for the Heysen Prize for her piece ‘Brave Growth', was the Emerging Composer for ReClassified 2022, and premiered a multimedia work of baroque strings, soprano and video artwork for Adelaide Baroque.

Georgina designs site-specific spatial music, such as her 360° piece ‘Revelations’, for instruments and voices, live computer processing and acoustic reverb tube, all placed particularly in the venue (below). She creates art-music crossovers, such as Yaban Ariları an art score for Stephen Upshaw, released on ‘Into The Ocean’ (see below). Recently she participated in the Festival of Laurence Crane at Guildhall with a moving underwater artwork response to his piece ‘See Our Lake’.

Georgina’s nature-based artwork is exhibited in the UK and South Australia, where she won a 2021 Emerging Artist Prize for her artwork inspired by the deep blue Australian sky and rustic gumtree bark texture. Georgina founded and runs art classes ‘Adelaide Art Outside’. which last year focussed on spring colours in the Botanic Gardens.

She has been a radio presenter for Resonance FM with her soundwalking programme ‘Palimpsest’, and for South Australian radio station 5mbs for contemporary music. Georgina was a tutor of Architecture at the University of South Australia in 2021, and was previously a critic at Coventry University for a Soundwalking module in 2019.

Contact Georgina

ART / MUSIC PROJECTS

View list of all works

Brave Growth | 2021

Shortlisted Artist | Heysen Prize

Emerging Artist Award | West Torrens Art Prize

Oils on Canvas | triptych

Inspired by river gumtrees stretching upward to infinity, like cracks in the vivid blue sky.

See Our Sea | 2021

Moving Underwater Painting | Response to Laurence Crane's 'See Our Lake'

For the Laurence Crane Festival at Guildhall School of Music & Drama

Buy ‘See Our Lake’ on Another Timbre

Yaban Ariları [wild bees] | 2019

Solo Viola - Art Score | 6'00"

For Stephen Upshaw | released on Into the Ocean

A microtonal counterpoint, shown by shifting squares in the score.

The performer interprets the shades of colour and pitch.

Inspired by the moving soundscape of wild bees on Lycian Way in Turkey.

Revelations (excerpt) | 2018

Dancer, electronics, soprano and chorus, violins, brass and wind, bass drums, glass objects and space tube | 4'00" excerpt of 40" work

Collaboration with dancer & choreographer Rosamond Martin.

Apocalyptic, three dimensional play of sound, space and movement, in seven sections

Radium | 2018

Short Opera [to be extended] for strings and female voices | 15'00"

Performed at Trinity Laban'sGold Medal Showcase

developed through Rough for Opera

A harrowing story of WWI factory workers painting clocks with glow-in-the-dark Radium, while it killed them with bone tumors.

Palimpsest | 2020 - ongoing

Radio Programme | Resonance FM

An immersive soundwalk collage, exploring a particular place each episode. Sounds recorded and presented by Georgina.

Georgina Bowden · Palimpsest

Incisions | 2018

Short Movement for String Quartet

Performed by the Smith Quartet

Abstract piece based on cold, harsh material textures and their translation into sound.

Soru Cevap | 2019

For Large Ensemble (open score)

Written for Contemporary Music for All

Short playful piece acoustically creating echo and reverb effects. Based on the calls to prayer in Istanbul echoing around the city.

The Distant Sax | 2017

Digital Track | 2'37"

A single sound excerpt is transformed through different contexts and time decay; from a live performance to underwater to a distant crackling radio.

Ascent | 2018

For Chamber Orchestra | 5'00"

Performed by TL chamber orchestra, cond. Gregory Rose

Exploring gravitational forces during take-off and how these could be conveyed through orchestration.

Collaged Portraits | 2012 - present

Oil on Canvas

Inspired by the architectural concept of aperspective and its translation into art composition.

Up They Rise | 2016

For String Quartet | 4'00"

Performed by the Dulcinea Quartet

Political conceptual piece, driven by ideas about digital echo chambers and violence from Hypernormalisation by Adam Curtis

Alone (text by James Joyce) | 2017

For Solo Soprano | 7'00"

Performed by Anna Rea

Floating in a trance, a woman dreams and imagines, cycling through states from distress to peace.

John Condon | 2018

For Soprano and Double Bass | 10'00"

Performed by Anna Rea and James Trowbridge

Weather Architecture | 2012

Architecture Master's Thesis

Please enquire about purchasing scores: georginaebowden@gmail.com

Large Ensemble

Wild Colour [2023] - for large orchestra and digital art soloist- c. 10’00”

The Sky Undone [2023] - for baroque strings and soprano - c. 8’00”

Ascent [2018] - for chamber orchestra - c. 5’00”

Soru Cevap [2018] - for large ensemble [open score] - commission for Contemporary Music for All - c. 2’00”

Revelations [2018] - for dancer, electronics, solo soprano, chorus, violins, brass and wind, and percussion - c. 35’

Radium [2018] - short opera for female voices and string quintet - c.11’00’’

Small ensemble

A Life I Could Not Read [2022] - for mezzo-soprano, violin, cello and artist - for ReClassified Festival - c. 9’00”

Micro-geology [2022] - for a quartet of two double basses and two flutes - for CMA/ MOD. Invisibility Commissions - c. 5’00”

Incisions [2018] - for the Smith Quartet - c. 3’00”

Palimpsest [2017] - for spaced choir, solo tenor, trombone, piano, harp, flute and percussion - c.8’00”

Thank You, Dr Sachs [2017] - flute, clarinet, piano, violin, viola and cello - commission for ACE - c. 4’00’’

Invasion! [2017] - for string quartet, drumkit, alto sax, flute, harp, live processing and film - for ANIMA ensemble - c.4’00’’

Up They Rise [2016] - for Trinity Laban String Quartet - c. 4’00”

Choral

The Ice Carol [2019] - commission for Hornsey Parish Choir - c. 3’00”

Antiphon [2019] - commission for SJDK choir - c. 4’00”

The Fainting Sun [2019] - commission for Trinity Laban Chamber Choir - c. 5’00’’

I’ll tell you yesterday [2018] - for CoMA Voices - c. 3’00”

Breaking the Set [2016] - commission for Ensemble Kantores - c.5’00’’

Solo/Duo/ Trio

Ludic Chat [2023] - alto recorder and soprano - for Brendan O'Donnell and Kate Macfarlane - c. 5’00”

A Sky of Lenses [2022] - prepared handbells, pan lids and water - for Ali O'Connell - c. 8’00”

Flex [2022] - solo cello - c. 5’00”

Yaban Arilar [2019] - solo viola - for Stephen Upshaw - c. 6’00”

Folie à Deux [2019] - for marimba with two percussionists - for the Arx Duo - c. 12’00”

Breaking [2019] - high voice and piano - for the English Song Competition - c. 6’00”

John Condon [2018] - for soprano and double bass - for Anna Rea and James Trowbridge - c. 5’00’’

The Waker [2018] - piano solo - for Paolo Rinaldi - c. 3’00”

Speak [2017] - for the Arx Duo - c.3’00”

Alone [2017] - for solo soprano - for Anna Rea - c. 8’00”

Train Rec [2017] - for mezzo soprano and live sound processing - for Anna Prowse - c. 10’00”

Dependences [2015] - for solo piano - c. 2’00”

The Cold Stairwell [2015] - for soprano, marimba, snare and bass drum - for Sara Stowe and Chris Brannick - c.5’00’’

Forces Beyond Our Control [2015] - for piano trio - for the Ireland Trio - c.6’00’’

Hymn, for Piano [2015] - for piano -for Helen Burford - c.5’00’’

Mid-Winter [2015] - for piano trio - for the Ireland Trio - c.5’00’’

Georgina Bowden Composer / Artist 18th June - The Sky Undone at Elder Hall (baroque strings, soprano and video art) 27th Aug - Wild Colour at Ostrava Days Festival (orchestra and live digital art)