For Joe Chindamo, becoming the MSO's 2026 Composer in Residence feels like a career zenith his younger self could scarcely have imagined.
“Everything I’ve done in my career has led me to this point,” he reflects from his home studio in inner Melbourne. “It constitutes a new beginning for me - a reinvention of self.”
It’s a striking statement from a musician who has already lived multiple musical lives. Yet orchestral composition, which he only began pursuing in earnest a decade ago, has revealed itself as home.
“There’s not one scintilla of fear involved,” he said of composing for an orchestra of 91 musicians. “I feel excited rather than intimidated. That tells me this is where I should be."
The genesis of Chindamo’s major premiere, Are There Any Questions?, began about five years ago when Melbourne arts patron Michael Aquilina approached him about commissioning a symphony. The MSO enthusiastically embraced the project as co-commissioners. As discussions evolved, the concept transformed and expanded into a large-scale work for orchestra, chorus, mezzo-soprano and organ.
The title comes from the final line of Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale which, together with George Orwell’s 1984, provides the inspiration for the work.
“I’m fascinated, and frankly disturbed, by how quickly ritualistic systems can manipulate human behaviour,” Chindamo said. Inspired by Jungian psychology, this exploration of society’s collective shadow and the dystopian effects of power, conformity, and control provide great scope to create a musical corollary.
In this conversation hosted by conductor Benjamin Northey and featuring soprano Jessica Aszodi, Joe speaks about the inspiration for this work and the process of composing a large-scale work for orchestra, chorus and soprano.
In October, dynamic flautist Eliza Shephard joins the orchestra for the world premiere of Chindamo’s Flute Concerto, the second MSO commission to emerge from his residency. The work draws inspiration from the razor-sharp wit of Dorothy Parker and the dazzling repartee of the Algonquin Round Table - that glittering circle of 1920s New York where intellect and mischief collided with style.
Alongside the concerto, he will present his Fantasie auf Nachtmusik, a bold reimagining of Mozart’s Eine kleine Nachtmusik.
His approach to reimagining Mozart is inventive, much like Chindamo himself.
“Fantasie auf Nachtmusik is less a reimagining than an original work built from Mozart’s musical DNA, abstracting themes from Eine kleine Nachtmusik and reconstructing them into a contemporary, living portrait,” he said.
For Chindamo, writing for orchestra feels instinctive.
“The orchestral palette offers a vast spectrum of colour and possibility. It allows me to weave structure, emotion, and drama into storytelling in ways no other medium can.”
He is equally enthusiastic about touring the new flute concerto beyond the city centre.
“I adore Eliza Shephard’s playing and energy,” he says. “Bringing orchestral music outside the metropolitan orbit [the work will be performed in Werribee, Phillip Island and more] is profoundly rewarding. It allows us to connect with broader audiences and share these works with communities who might not regularly experience live orchestral music.”
Across a career spanning diverse musical territories, Chindamo has found deep artistic kinship with the MSO.
“This is my tribe,” he said. He attends as many concerts as possible and feels warmly welcomed by his new Orchestra family. “Being given this residency is a privilege carrying immense responsibility - one that I take very seriously.”
When asked about his role within a 120-year-old institution such as the MSO, Chindamo reflects on balancing tradition and innovation.
“I see my music as rooted in tradition, yet speaking to my own time, in much the way composers like Stravinsky reflected theirs,” he said. “I consider my role to be custodian and innovator, honouring the MSO’s rich heritage while extending it into new terrain.”
Katharine Bartholomeusz-Plows, MSO Head of Artistic Planning, echoed Joe’s sentiments.
“Supporting Australian, and Melbourne, artists is a core part of what the MSO is here to do. There are so many fantastic artists undertaking hugely creative and ambitious projects; it's very inspiring for us to work with our local artists,” she said.
“Composers who have come to writing for orchestras via less-direct means, such as Joe, have different ways of approaching new works; different musical things to say and ways to say them. Diversity is what keeps things interesting, working with composers with a mix of backgrounds means that you could be challenged, surprised or find new ideas to play with.”
“My journey is my own, and I know no other way."
As for the unconventional path that led him here - through jazz clubs and festivals, 20+ albums, working in television and film studios, and touring internationally with US jazz greats - Chindamo sees it as integral to his voice.
“My journey is my own, and I know no other way,” he said.
For audiences encountering his work this year, that singular journey promises music that is alive, authentic, and unafraid to ask difficult questions.
In October, the newly commissioned Flute Concerto and Fantasie auf Nachtmusik will have its world premiere in Glenroy, and tour to Cowes and Melbourne Recital Centre.
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