Associate Professor Bruce Crossman
Associate Professor,
Music & MCMT
Biography
Crossman is a composer with interests across visual arts, East Asian architecture, poetry and music (classical, traditional world and improvisatory musics) with a focus on Asian-Pacific musical identity. He holds a Doctor of Creative Arts from Wollongong University with other degrees from the University of York and Otago University and has achieved international recognition with performances in Australasia, Asia (China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Philippines), Europe and the USA. Highlights include working with the Kanagawa Philharmonic (Japan), Korean Symphony Orchestra, New Asia String Quartet at the Pacific Rim Music Festival in the USA, and with Kawamura Taizan (shakuhachi) at the Asian Music Festival 2010 in Tokyo and shihans Tomotsune Bizan and Kikuchi Kouzan’s for the Opening Concert ‘Asia, Asia, Asia’, Yokohama Minato-Mirai Hall at Asian Music Festival 2014 in Japan. Recent projects include performances at the ISCM World New Music Days in Beijing and Asian Composers League Festival and Conference in Taiwan in 2018, and collaborations with Korean Gugak performers, gayageum master Yi Jiyoung (Seoul) and taegum virtuoso Hyelim Kim (London) for a 2021 album release by Navona (USA). His research included working as Scholar-in-Residence, at the David C. Lam Institute for East-West Studies (LEWI) in Hong Kong. National recognition has come from Australia and New Zealand with awards and composer residencies. Highlights include a Finalist Nomination in the APRA-Australian Music Centre Classical Music Awards and the Mozart Fellowship at Otago University.
Crossman has organized multiple research projects linking practice and scholarship with international linkage and publication outcomes (performance-based and refereed). Highlights include, working with Grawemeyer Award winner Chinary Ung (USA) at Aurora Festival 2008 and invitations as a Collaborator, Aichi University of the Arts, Japan in 2015, Composer, National Sun Yat-sen University Taiwan in 2019, Panellist, at Seoul National University’s 2021 SNU Online Winter Music Festival in Korea, and advisory work for the Rockefeller Foundation in New York (USA).
As a scholar he is interested in creative reflective-practice and has published several articles and edited books linking traditional musics of the Pacific Rim with European compositional techniques; several highlights include co-editing Music of the Spirit: Asian-Pacific Musical Identity with Michael Atherton, and working on "Living Colours: An Asian-Pacific Conceptual Frame for Composition" as a chapter in Sally Macarthur’s (ed) Music’s Immanent Future: The Deleuzian Turn in Music Studies (Ashgate, 2016).
Crossman is an experienced teacher who has held multiple academic positions and supervised many postgraduates, including composers, improvisers and visual artists. He holds the positions of Associate Professor, Music in the School of Humanities and Communication Arts and Discipline/ Professional Field Leader, Music and Music Therapy at Western Sydney University.
This information has been contributed by Associate Professor Crossman.
Qualifications
- DCA University of Wollongong
- MPhil University of York (UK)
- MMus University of Otago
- BMus University of Otago
Professional Memberships
- Member Australasian Performing Right Association Ltd (2000)
- Member (represented) Australian Music Centre Ltd (2000)
- Member (represented) Centre for New Zealand Music: Sounz (2001)
Awards
- Researcher of the Year (Practice-based Research), School of Humanities and Communications Arts, Western Sydney University 2019-11-01
Organisational Unit (School / Division)
- Music & MCMT
Contact
| Email: | B.Crossman@westernsydney.edu.au |
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| Phone: | (02) 47360 865 |
| Mobile: | |
| Location: | C.G.30 Penrith (Kingswood) |
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Teaching
Previous Teaching Areas
- 101539 The Composer-Performer, 2021
- 102548 Composition and Creativity, 2021
- 102549 Songwriting and Composer Collaborations, 2021
- 102563 Screen Media Composition, 2021
Publications
Books
- Atherton, M. and Crossman, B. (2008), 'Music of the Spirit: Asian-Pacific Musical Identity', : Australian Music Centre 9780909168650.
Chapters in Books
- Crossman, B. (2016), 'Living colours : an Asian-Pacific conceptual frame for composition', Music's Immanent Future: The Deleuzian Turn in Music Studies, Routledge 9781472460219.
- Crossman, B. (2010), 'Spiritual Essences: Sounds of an Asian-Pacific Place, Personality and Spirit in Double Resonances', World New Music Magazine : Spiritual Essences: Sounds of an Asian-Pacific Place, Personality and Spirit in Double Resonances, International Society for Contemporary Music 1019-7117.
- Crossman, B. and Atherton, M. (2008), 'Introduction: Music of the Spirit', Music of the Spirit: Asian-Pacific Musical Identity, Australian Music Centre 9780909168650.
- Crossman, B. (2008), 'Spiritual Essences: Sounds of an Asian-Pacific Place, Personality and Spirit in Double Resonances', Music of the Spirit: Asian-Pacific Musical Identity, Australian Music Centre 9780909168650.
- Crossman, B. (2006), 'Moving Between Things: Heaven and Hell, Visual and Sonic Gestures Towards Transecendent Oneness', Intercultural Music: Creation and Interpretation, Australian Music Centre 9780909168605.
- Macarthur, S., Crossman, B. and Morelos, R. (2006), 'Introduction', Intercultural Music: Creation and Interpretation, Australian Music Centre 9780909168605.
- Macarthur, S., Crossman, B. and Morelos, R. (2006), 'Introduction', Intercultural Music: Creation and Interpretation, Australian Music Centre 9780909168605.
Journal Articles
- Crossman, B. (2018), 'Confucian lateral thinking and Daoist flow in the Sonic Fire Gardens of Beijing : ISCM World New Music Days/Beijing Modern Music Festival 2018, 19-26 May', World New Music Magazine, vol 28 , pp 59 - 69.
- Crossman, B. (2005), 'The Artist's Viewpoint: Asian-Australian Resonances', TAASA Review: The Journal of The Asian Arts Society of Australia, vol 14, no 2 , pp 16 - 17.
- Crossman, B. (2002), 'Sounding the Ritual of Sensual Rebellion: Pacific-European Resonances.', Leonardo Music Journal, vol 12 , pp 63 - 65.
Conference Papers
- Crossman, B. (2005), 'Asian-Australian Interactions: Personal Compositional Voice and After-Resonance Renewal', CEASS Conference: Scholarship and Community UWS 2005, University of Western Sydney, Bankstown.
Exhibitions
- 2017, 'Poetic Energies Across Sonic Space'
Other Publications
- 2022, 'Bower: Keobeu Nolae: for Solo Sanjo Gayageum', Published Work
- 2022, 'Dancing Deep-Sadness: for String Orchestra', Published Work
- 2021, 'Dying of the Light: Pacific Resonance for Peter', Recorded Work
- 2021, 'Cicada Swells (in O ch'ae chul kut): for Piano', Published Work
- 2021, 'Fragility and Sonorousness: For Solo Piano', Published Work
- 2021, 'Singing Red Juxtapositions: For Erhu, Guzheng and Pipa', Published Work
- 2021, 'Heaven to Earth Border House', Recorded Work
- 2020, 'Gyeonggye: Border: for Solo Taegum', Published Work
- 2019, 'Heaven to Earth: Border House for taegum and sanjo gayageum', Published Work
- 2018, 'Silky Mist Softly Lingers... Red: for solo guzheng', Published Work
- 2017, 'Living Colours: Pacific Sounds & Spirit', Recorded Work
- 2017, 'Rushing Spirit Breath for taegum and percussion', Published Work
- 2017, 'Garden of Fire: for mezzo-soprano, percussion and piano', Published Work
- 2017, 'Spirit for mezzo-soprano, violin, pianoforte and percussion from Gentleness-Suddenness', Recorded Work
- 2017, 'Strange Invisible Perfume: for guzheng and percussion', Published Work
- 2016, 'Blooms Late When Spring is Gone...: For Solo Erhu', Published Work
- 2016, 'Fragrant Rain Clouds of Love: For Percussion and Piano', Published Work
- 2015, 'Where are the Sounds of Joy?: for Bb Trumpet, Percussion and Piano', Published Work
- 2015, 'Emergence from Autumn Darkness to Spring: for Jiari-Shakuhachi and Jinashi-Shakuhachi', Published Work
- 2015, 'Emergence from Darkness: for Solo Harp', Published Work
- 2014, 'Gentleness-suddeness', Recorded Work
- 2014, 'Dying of the Light: For Solo Soprano Saxophone', Published Work
- 2013, 'Resonance of Red: for Sitar, Tabla and Harpsichord', Published Work
- 2012, 'Qi colour from hidden resonances', Recorded Work
- 2012, 'Early spring that no one sees : for viola, percussion and piano', Published Work
- 2012, 'Gentleness-suddenness : for mezzo-soprano, violin, percussion and piano', Published Work
- 2012, 'Blossom sadness : for string quartet', Published Work
- 2012, 'Spirit-presence : for Jiari-shakuhachi and Jinashi-shakuhachi', Published Work
- 2011, 'Pacific Dancing for orchestra', Published Work
- 2010, 'Qi colour from hidden resonances : for piano', Published Work
- 2010, 'Not Broken-Bruised-Reed', Published Work
- 2010, 'In Gentleness and Suddenness', Published Work
- 2009, 'Resophonica', Recorded Work
- 2009, 'Creative Explosion', Recorded Work
- 2008, 'Double Resonances', Published Work
- 2008, 'Musical Score - Double Resonances on Music of the Spirit', Recorded Work
- 2008, 'CD collection Double Resonances', Recorded Work
- 2006, 'Daragang Magayon Cantata', Recorded Work
- 2006, 'Musical Score: Daragang Magayon Cantata', Published Work
- 2005, 'After Resonance Blues', Published Work
- 2005, 'Majesty', Published Work
- 2004, 'Fierce Tranquility', Published Work
- 2004, 'B-Bop', Published Work
- 2003, 'In Gentleness and Suddenness', Recorded Work
Music Composition, Intercultural Music (especially with China, Japan, Korea, the Philippines), Reflective-Practice Writing
This information has been contributed by Associate Professor Crossman.
Previous Projects
| Title: | Between sound and silence: expression of transcendence and ma in a musical work and exegesis |
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| Funder: |
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| Western Researchers: | Clare Maclean and Bruce Crossman |
| Years: | 2014-09-16 - 2015-12-31 |
| ID: | P00022349 |
| Title: | Music of the Spirit: Investigations into Asian-Pacific Musical Identity within the Western Art-Music Tradition |
| Funder: |
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| Western Researchers: | Bruce Crossman and Michael Atherton Am |
| Years: | 2007-06-05 - 2008-06-04 |
| ID: | P0015643 |
| Title: | Gentleness Suddenness Project |
| Funder: |
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| Western Researchers: | Bruce Crossman |
| Years: | 2012-12-01 - 2013-09-27 |
| ID: | P00021069 |
Supervision
Associate Professor Crossman is available to be a principal supervisor for doctoral projects
Current Supervision
| Thesis Title: | Towards the Light within Hybridisation of Polish-Chaplinesque Compositional Voice: Exploring a Polish Musical Aesthetic towards Dramatic Reinvention of Mazurka Form through Chaplin City Lights |
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| Field of Research: | |
| Thesis Title: | Roger Frampton Comes Alive: Finding the Father, Sleuthing the Self Through an Analysis of Grief, Patriography and Documentary Film |
| Field of Research: | Audio Visual Studies; Psychology; Other Creative Arts; Music |
| Thesis Title: | Reinventing Minimalism: Assimilating Repetitive Structures, Oceanic Rhythm and Harmony with an Electric Guitar Driven Musical Voice |
| Field of Research: | |
| Thesis Title: | Korean Female Folk Songs: the experience of three generations of Korean women and contemporary dissemination. |
| Field of Research: | |
| Thesis Title: | Rebelling Against the 'Ghost' Rebellion: A Prosocial Compositional Voice. |
| Field of Research: | |
| Thesis Title: | A visual engagement with the somatic experience of post-traumatic stress. |
| Field of Research: |
Previous Supervision
| Thesis Title: | Music of Balance : Circles and Squares |
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| Field of Research: | Music |
| Thesis Title: | Australian 'Deterritorialised' Music Theatre: A Theoretical and Creative Exploration |
| Field of Research: | Communication And Media Studies |
| Thesis Title: | The Intuitive and the Intellectual: Aspects of Personal Compositional Voice and its Complex and Intuitive Processes in Relation to Astronomical Observations and Elementary and Advanced Performers. |
| Field of Research: | Music |
| Thesis Title: | Singing the Lord's Song in a Strange Land: Compositional Voice Towards Expression of Christian Transcendence |
| Field of Research: | Music |
| Thesis Title: | A Fusion of Korean and Western Art Music Towards Oneness in Composition as an Expression of Personal Identity |
| Field of Research: | Music |
| Thesis Title: | Post-Psychedelic Tendencies and Architectural Cohesion: A New Perspective on the Rock Album |
| Field of Research: | Music |
| Thesis Title: | Imaginative Music for Chinese-Speaking Children: Educative Purposes, Tangential Thoughts and Compositional Imagination for Children |
| Field of Research: | Music |
| Thesis Title: | A Cross-Cultural and Multimedia Fractured Macedonian-Australian Compositional Voice |
| Field of Research: | Music |
| Thesis Title: | The Logic of Nonsense as Musical Structure: Personal Process Towards Oppositionality and Reorganisation as Music Composition |
| Field of Research: | Music |
| Thesis Title: | Butterfly Modernism: Composing with Non-Musical Mathematics of Architecture, East Asian Aesthetics and Steiner Spirituality |
| Field of Research: | Other Creative Arts |
| Thesis Title: | Towards the Artistic Moment: A Personal Exploration at the Nexus of Improvised Inter-Disciplinary and Cross Cultural Collaborative Performance through the Metaphor of <i>Ma</i> |
| Field of Research: | Other Society And Culture |
| Thesis Title: | Breath through Water: Personal Cross-Cultural and Collaborative Processes Flowing Towards Dao in Composition |
| Field of Research: | Creative Arts |
| Thesis Title: | An Asian-Pacific Hybrid Blues Voice: ASyncretic Sonic Grit Journey from Ancient Chinese and Korean Musical Forms to 20th & 21st Century Rural Blues and Gospel Music |
| Field of Research: | Other Creative Arts; Music |
| Thesis Title: | Clash Collaboration: Multifaceted Disparateness Facilitating Fractures and Fusions in Musical Composition and Improvisation |
| Field of Research: | Communication And Media Studies; Music |
| Thesis Title: | One Giant Leap for Jazz: The Life and Work of Roger Frampton |
| Field of Research: | Communication And Media Studies; Language And Literature; Other Creative Arts |
| Thesis Title: | The Qian Painterly Voice: A Visual Exploration of Ba-Gua Energies and Sonic Connections within Fourteen Contemporary Emperors and Beyond |
| Field of Research: | Other Creative Arts |
| Thesis Title: | Materiality and Metaphor: Making Trauma Visible through an Arts-Based Autoethnography. |
| Field of Research: | Creative Arts, N.e.c. |
| Thesis Title: | Delicateness and Freedom in Composition: A Cross-Cultural Exploration of Timbre and Texture through American Minimalism and French Spectralism |
| Field of Research: | Other Creative Arts |
Media
| Title: | Bruce Crossman - Gentleness-Suddenness |
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| Description: | ABC Classic Podcast |
| Title: | Composer Website |
| Description: | A personal website as a composer |
| Title: | My work in music |
| Description: | ABC Classic FM radio feature |