Amanda Handel

Amanda Handel’s diverse musical interests and influences inhabit her sound world and provide a distinctive voice.
Amanda is currently working on a programme of works on Australian imagery to be recorded with didjeridu player Michael Jackson.  In 2010 they collaborated to create the soundtrack for a wilderness DVD permanently exhibited in the theatre of the World Heritage Visitors' Centre at the Mount Tomah Botanic Garden.
"Gardens of Stone" for string orchestra and didjeridu was given three performances by Camerata Ardesko in Amsterdam during July 2010, inaugurating a global project celebrating Australian landscape in music and images.  See http://www.wildcountryaustralia.com.
In 2004 and 2007 Amanda studied flamenco music with pianist/composer Pedro Sarmiento in Madrid.  While in Spain, she drafted instrumental scores and made field recordings for a CD project.   Collaborating with sound designer G.L Seiler, the album "Ghosts and Angels" was released in 2006 on the Feral Media label.  The album received rave reviews and was a finalist in the Australian Music Prize.  See http://www.myspace.com/amandahandelglseiler.
In 2003 she completed an M.A. (Hons) degree at the University of Western Sydney.  Her thesis "Music of Balance: Circles and Squares" includes a large portfolio of original scores and acoustic recordings which explore mandalas in music.
Amanda is a qualified and accredited piano teacher holding AMusA and ATCL (T.Dip). She has been teaching piano at the Joan Sutherland Centre since 1991 and has lectured in harmony, analysis and composition at the University of Western Sydney.
She studied soprano saxophone with Sandy Evans and has performed in several jazz and world music ensembles.  Amanda has considerable experience in flamenco dance and has also collaborated with contemporary dancers and choreographers.  She is currently a student of the Alexander technique, exploring its inclusion into her music making.
Commissioned chamber works include "Dry Red", which was premiered at the Darwin Internaitonal Guitar Festival and "Red, Yellow, Black and White: Music for Reconciliation" for two pianos and percussion, comissioned by Ars Musica Australis.  The premiere, given by Daniel Herscovitch, Michael Leslie, Daryl Pratt and Alison Eddington, was recorded and broadcast on ABC-FM radio.
She has also written many works for guitar, including "Dances to the Night Sky" for the Sydney Guitar Trio and "Goarounds and Grounds"  for Guitar and Flute, which was broadcast live on ABC-FM radio in a performance by Carolyn Kidd and Virgina Taylor,  The Song Company included "Sznuvah Szn" on their program for the 'Sagra Musicale di Perugia' international festival in Italy.  Many of Amanda's works have been choreographed for dance performances.

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