Lecturer

Background

Tom O’Halloran leads the Jazz Piano department at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA) at Edith Cowan University, and currently holds a Master of Music in classical composition from the Sydney Conservatorium of Music and a Bachelor of Jazz (Performance) from WAAPA. He is a regularly commissioned composer and lectures in jazz composition, as well as improvisation, ensemble studies and piano workshop.

He has most recently performed a two piano duo concert with Graham Wood - complete with two Fazioli grand pianos - for which he was commissioned to compose. The resulting piece was Dissolve, for two pianos, and further explores interruption and chromatic saturation, synthesised with jazz interaction and improvisation.

He also recently presented a paper entitled 'Gesture and Emotion: Pre-composition and improvisation' at the 2011 Musicological Society of Australia’s Power of Music academic conference in Perth, Australia.

His Masters thesis is entitled 'Sustained Aspects and Precursors: Toward a Stylistic Synthesis', and it discusses several of his compositions in terms of architecture, harmonic and rhythmicproperties, and the underlying trend in his music toward integration of jazz and art music concepts and techniques. Included pieces are 'Beyond the 26th Parallel', written for large chamber ensemble, 'Benevolent Apocalypse', for orchestra.

His overseas performances have included the Houston International Jazz Festival, the IAJE festival in New York, Villa Celimontana in Italy, Dubai, UAE where he played with the Dubai Philharmonic Orchestra, and club dates in New Zealand. Tom has two jazz trio records to his name, released through the Sydney based Jazzgroove Records label. His latest album 'We Happy Few' won the 2009 Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) Limelight Magazine award for best jazz achievement.

He is part of the exciting new Perth group Memory of Elements, and contributes compositions alongside Jamie Oehlers (saxophone), Carl Makey (saxophone), Simon Jeans (guitar), Pete Jeavons (bass) and Ben Vanderwal (drums). They performed at the 2011 Wangaratta Jazz Festival and completed a national tour. When living in Sydney he formed the new band 'Soundgun', comprised of Jonathan Zwartz (double-bass) and Evan Mannell (drums). They debuted the group at the Wangaratta Jazz Festival in 2008 and have recorded for ABC Jazz Radio.

He plays a myriad of styles, and recently arranged all the music for the concert series 'JONI' - a Joni Mitchell tribute that was staged at the Sydney Opera House, Melbourne and Brisbane, starring Katie Noonan and Wendy Matthews.

Staff Qualifications

• MMus (Master of Music), The University of Sydney, 2012 .
• BMus (Bachelor of Music), Edith Cowan University, 1998 .

Recent Publications (within the last five years)

Creative Works

• O'Halloran, T., (2010), Dissolve - score. Dissolve, Perth, WA.
• O'Halloran, T., (2010), Memory of Elements compositions. Memory of Elements featuring Jamie Oehlers Sextet, Perth Jazz Society.
• Wood, G., O'Halloran, T., (2011), Piano Perspectives. CD Release JAZZWA Commissioned Work, Government House Ballroom.
• O'Halloran, T., Oehlers, J., Mackey, C., Jeavons, P., Jeans, S., Vanderwal, B., (2011), Memory of Elements. Memory of Elements Live, Charles Hotel.
• Mackey, C., O'Halloran, T., Anning, S., Vanderwal, B., Jeavons, P., (2011), Carl Mackey - 11:11. 11:11 CD Launch, The Ellington Jazz Club.
• O'Halloran, T., Vanderwal, B., (2011), Tom O'Halloran WAAPA Lunchtime Concert - 18th April 2011., Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts.
• O'Halloran, T., Grigson, F., Tarr, C., (2011), 2011 Beaufort Street Festival., Beaufort Street (outdoor), Mount Lawley, Perth..
• O'Halloran, T., Grigson, F., Tarr, C., (2011), TLC Organ Trio - 2011 Jazz Club Sets., The Ellington Jazz Club, Perth.
• O'Halloran, T., Curnow, K., Grigson, F., (2011), Katherine Curnow - 26th May 2011., The Ellington Jazz Club, Perth.
• O'Halloran, T., Muller, J., Zwartz, J., Mannell, E., (2011), James Muller and Soundgun - 2011 Sydney Fringe Festival., 505.
• Tarr, C., Florisson, K., O'Halloran, T., Boaden, D., (2011), Pat Metheny Tribute at the Perth Jazz Society. A Tribute to Pat Metheny, The Charles Hotel, North Perth.
• O'Halloran, T., Gioia, A., Little, S., (2011), Andrew Gioia Sean Little with Tom O'Halloran., The Ellington Jazz Club, Perth.
• Torrance, V., Booth, P., O'Halloran, T., (2011), Victoria Newton/Paul Booth Project. Victoria Newton and Paul Booth, The Ellington Jazz Club.
• O'Halloran, T., Jeavons, P., Susnjar, D., (2011), 2011 Freedman Fellowship., Sydney Opera House.
• O'Halloran, T., Jeavons, P., Susnjar, D., (2011), 2011 Tom O'Halloran Trio National Tour., Austraian Jazz Clubs.
• O'Halloran, T., (2011), 2011 WAAPA All-Star Big Band Musical Director/Pianist., Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts.
• Greig, J., Pigneguy, M., Jeans, S., Tanner, P., Mackey, C., Jeavons, P., O'Halloran, T., Robbie, I., (2011), The Awakenings Ensemble. The Awakenings Ensemble, The Ellington.
• O'Halloran, T., Gillespie, N., (2011), Natalie Gillespie - Michael Buble support show., Sandalford Winery, Swan Valley.
• O'Halloran, T., Oehlers, J., Mackey, C., Jeans, S., Jeavons, P., Vanderwal, B., (2011), Memory of Elements National Tour 2011., Australian Jazz Clubs.
• O'Halloran, T., Vanderwal, B., Oceans, L., (2010), Lucky Oceans,Tom O'Halloran and Ben Vanderwal. Lucky Oceans,Tom O'Halloran and Ben Vanderwal, The Ellington.
• O'Halloran, T., (2010), WAAPA All Star Big Band - Director. WAAPA All Star Big Band, Music Auditorium, Edith Cowan University.
• O'Halloran, T., (2010), Tom O'Halloran. Jazz in Central Park, Perth CBD.
• O'Halloran, T., Zwartz, J., Slater, P., Maegraith, R., Hevia, F., Stuart, H., (2010), Jonathan Zwartz Ensemble. Wangarratta Jazz Festival-Jonathan Zwartz Ensemble, St Patrick's Hall.
• Wood, G., O'Halloran, T., Bodycoat, A., (2010), Minor Major Marlene. Cabaret Soiree Carnivalle, His Majesty's Theatre.
• O'Halloran, T., Jeavons, P., Susnjar, D., (2010), Tom O'Halloran Trio. Tom O'Halloran , The Ellington.
• O'Halloran, T., (2010), Tom O'Halloran Tour 2010. Tom O'Halloran Trio, Selected Australian venues.
• O'Halloran, T., Susnjar, D., Jeavons, P., (2009), We happy Few - CD. We Happy Few, Glebe, NSW.
• O'Halloran, T., (2009), JONI - A Tribute to the Legendary Joni Mitchell - transcriptions of 18 works. Major Concert Series, Sydney Opera House.
• O'Halloran, T., Mannell, E., Zwartz, J., (2009), Soundgun. 8 o'clock Sharp, The Cafe Church Space, Glebe.
• O'Halloran, T., (2009), Hymne a Piaf - Director. Cabaret Concert Series, The Vanguard, Newtown.
• O'Halloran, T., Waples, B., Firth, T., Hogan, J., (2009), Tom O'Halloran Trio-We Happy Few. Jazzgroove Records presents the Tom O'Halloran Trio launch of We Happy Few, The Basement, Sydney.
• O'Halloran, T., Vanderwal, B., (2011), Train Lullaby (music for film)., Crank Recording, Perth.
• O'Halloran, T., Oehlers, J., Mackey, C., Jeavons, P., Jeans, S., Vanderwal, B., (2011), Memory of Elements Live. MoE (Memory of Elements), Charles Hotel.