Natalie Nicolas : Associate Artist
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Random Audio Sample: We won't let you down : string orchestra by Natalie Nicolas, from the CD Women of Note |
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Artist website: https://www.natalienicolas.com.au/
Dr. Natalie Nicolas is a Sydney-based composer, researcher, and lecturer, holding a Master of Music (Composition) and PhD from the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. Her emotionally driven work explores calm and catharsis, reflected in We Won't Let You Down for ACO Collective (and the Hush Foundation), part of an ARIA-nominated album in 2019.
She has composed for the Sydney, Tasmania, Canberra, and Melbourne Symphony Orchestras, the Australian String Quartet, Sydney Philharmonia Choirs, Goldner String Quartet, and more. Career highlights include the ASQ Andrew Ford National Composers Forum (2013), National Women Composer's Development Program (2016-18), Harold and Gwenneth Harris Endowment Award (2019/20), and Flinders Quartet Composition Competition (2017, 2019). She was also selected for the MSO Cybec Program (2021).
Her music has featured on ABC Classic's AusMusic Month and Best of Australian Classical Music playlists (2018, 2020, 2022), and in 2021 premiered at QPAC with the Southern Cross Soloists and Slava Grigoryan. Internationally, she has been performed in China, the US, and Canada, including at Connecticut Summerfest with Grammy-nominated ZOFO.
Recent highlights include Sydney Dreaming (Omega Ensemble, Sydney Opera House premiere), By the Tide of the Moon (Flinders Quartet, 2025 tour, MRC premiere), the immersive Something from Nothing (Charles Perkins Centre, Ensemble Apex), and a new Hush Foundation album titled Peaceful Moments released November 2025, and made album of the week by ABC Classic. Nicolas is the 2025 Layton Fellow with Australia Ensemble and winner of the Australian Composition Competition with guitarist Matt Withers.
Natalie Nicolas — current to November 2025
Awards & Prizes
| Year | Award | Placing | Awarded for |
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| 2025 | Layton Emerging Composer Fellowship | Winner |
Selected Commissions
| Work | Commission Details | |
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| Coastal Edge : guitar solo (2025) | Commissioned by Matt Withers as winner of the Australian Composition Competition | |
| Oscar & Felix : for orcheatra (2025) | Commissioned for and performed in the SCM 110 anniversary concert. | |
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Sydney Dreaming : for clarinet, violin, viola, cello, and piano (2023) | Commissioned by Omega Ensemble. |
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A Blue Beethoven : for string quartet (2022) | Commissioned by the Flinders Quartet with support from FQ Syndicate #2 |
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Orpheus' Descent : for piano alone (2022) | Commissioned by Alex Raineri for Brisbane Festival, facilitated by generous support by Vicki Brooke |
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Something from Nothing : for string chamber orchestra (2022) | Commissioned by the Charles Perkins Centre for their 10th anniversary. |