MSI Premiere Composer, Kit Grahame....

Kit Grahame was born in 1985 in Wollongong, NSW, Australia. His mother a piano teacher, he was introduced to music at an early age, and has always had an interest in composition. He was examined in Solo Piano through the Trinity College London and completed his Higher School Certificate in Music in 2002, with an emphasis on Composition. He also played clarinet in community bands and orchestras, and has sung with various community and semi-professional vocal ensembles during high school and university.

Grahame has performed at the Shoalhaven City Eisteddfod regularly since he was eight years old, including entering the Open Composition section on two occasions, most recently being awarded Highly Commended with a score of 83% in 2004, for "Lux æterna", sung by Nina Morrison, a local vocal teacher and professional singer. He has been invited to perform his composition with Nina again for the consecration ceremony of the chapel at a local high school.

Some of Grahame's compositions and arrangements have been performed by choirs in NSW and ACT, including most notably Raised Voices, a 20-member a'cappella group based in the Shoalhaven area (performed "àpán ìgola" at the Major's Creek Folk Festival in 2002); and the Australian National University Choral Society (SCUNA), (performed "Weihnachtslied" for their Christmas Concert in 2004.) Thanks to the SibeliusMusic website, he has received an offer from the Chamber Singers, Inc. in Northeast Ohio, to premiere "Stabat Mater" in October 2005. Recordings will be made available via the SibeliusMusic website in the near future.

Grahame has recently completed his most challenging work yet, "Magnificat Anima Mea Dominum", which has already been received with interest by local musicians. He is currently working on setting the Ancient Greek text of the Nicene Creed, "πιστεύω εἰς ἕνα Θεόν" ("Pisteuo eis hena Theon"), in which he will explore new and interesting harmonic and rhythmic ideas.

A quote from Dr J.D. Goddard, Founder and Artistic Director of Master Singers, Inc. of Northeast Ohio & Chamber Singers, Inc. on "Stabat Mater":

"This is quite a dynamic piece for having been written by a 19 yr. old Australian young man... It is modern yet classical in sound and structure. ie. Chaos to resolution, cluster chords, modal, yet sensible in usage. It definitely carries a great weight with regard to the dramatic involvement of the singers and the stylistic interpretation it so richly deserves. The dynamics alone are impressive ppp-fff. This Stabat Mater will be full of tension-filled dramatic moments followed by equally as many relaxed and gentle moments of pathos and serenity. This is an absolutely wonderful composition. It possesses all of the great ingredients of an a'cappella composition: drama, tonality versus atonality, extreme dynamics, serious subject matter, superb moments of musical nuance, challenging rhythms, tricky metric notation and flowing melodic lines of romanticism. This piece has it all, and yet it is only 20-25 minutes in length."

His work is inspired by many different musical styles, and he has drawn influence from the works of composers such as Debussy, Pärt, Kodály, Messiaën and Morten Lauridsen, although he likes to write freely and without the traditional constraints of classical music. His current portfolio contains modern and inventive settings of Latin spiritual texts. He has written for choirs and various instruments, although most of his recent work is vocal. Grahame is currently at the Australian National University in his 3rd year of a Bachelor of Arts, majoring in Linguistics and International Communication (Spanish). He also speaks fluent German and is considering a career with a basis in international affairs.