RETURN TO COMPOSER LISTING
 
Derek Strahan:
Strahan was born in Penang, Malaysia on May 28th, 1935. His early childhood was
spent in colonial Malaya until the age of 5, when he, his mother and sister were
evacuated to Perth, Western Australia, as Singapore fell to the Japanese in
February 1942.
 
From 1946 the Strahan family was based in Northern Ireland, where Derek Strahan
attended and completed his schooling at Campbell College, Belfast.
 
At this institution, from the age of 15, Strahan experienced considerable conflict
with authority and with community mores generally, resulting from his interest in
music and desire to become a composer, and also as a result of developing views on
religion and politics regarded as radical.
 
At Cambridge University, where he was directed to enrol in an Arts degree in modern
languages, Strahan developed an interest in theatre and cinema, and acted in a number
of university productions. His musical activities were restricted to playing the piano
for pleasure and teaching himself the guitar. In 1954, he graduated with a BA Cantab
in Modem Languages. For the next 6 years, in London, Strahan worked as relief teacher,
actor, and for a few months as Assistant Film Director with a company making
commercials.
 
During this period Strahan's interest in music composition re-emerged, ironically,
through his admiration for the work of Rabelaisian French chansonnier Georges
Brassens.
 
While the rest of the English-speaking world was preoccupied with Rock 'n' Rollers
and folk singers, in the 1950s Strahan was writing and performing English-language
songs conceived in Gallic style, for which he composed instrumental accompaniments.
He persisted in this activity until the mid-70s, earning a small income singing at
coffee bars and folk venues in London and, from 1961, in Sydney, Australia, where
he married and became resident.
 
During 1969 Strahan appeared on TV occasionally for ABC's This Day Tonight,
and, for 9 months, in a weekly morning spot on ATN 7's Breakfast Show, singing
topical songs of his own composition (music & lyrics), accompanying himself on
guitar and harmonica.
 
From 1962 Strahan combined composing film music with work as, variously, film
director, script writer, actor and teacher. From 1980 he resolved to give greater
importance to composing and increased his output of works for concert performance.
At the same time, he maintained contacts in the Australian film industry and has
been involved in the production of three Australian feature films for which he
has written script and music, and two of which he has co-directed. He has
conducted courses in script writing and acting.
 
Strahan has released three programs of his music on his own record label,
Revolve, and his recorded works are frequently broadcast on ABC and other
fine music stations. His work is also featured on the Jade label.
 
From 1986, Strahan has been active as a polemicist on music topics and has had
a number of articles published, mostly in music journals, and mostly concerned
with improving the socioeconomic position of composers. From 1984 to 1990 Strahan
broadcast weekly on 2RES-FM (Radio Eastern Sydney) contributing reviews and
comment on music events. He resumed this activity in 1994 contributing reviews
of opera and music theatre.
 
As a composer, Strahan does not subscribe exclusively to any particular school,
style or set of musical dogmas. He feels that none encompass the full range
of his interests which as composer include music theatre, concert, popular
and ethnic musics and, as librettist, the esoteric, the reinterpretation of
ancient history through modem scholarship and the psychosexual basis of
personality.
 
Strahan is concerned to retain melodic lyricism, achieve harmonic liberation
through a synthesis of melodic and rhythmic polyphony. He finds that this
requires an evolving use of polytonality and polyrhythms.
 
For music theatre and for concert performance Strahan plans a program of
work which will require his survival for at least three more decades to
fulfil.
 
FILM MUSIC:
 
A Sawdust Heart (1963)
Suite for small ensemble
Commissioned by Childrens' Library & Crafts Movement for children's film.
 
Expedition - Sherpa Schoolhouse (1965)
(Music score incorporates Sherpa & Tibetan folk themes from field recordings)
Commissioned by NZBC for documentary on Sir Edmund Hillary's aid work
in the Himalayas.
 
Wheels Across Australia (1968)
Commissioned by Robert Raymond for documentary.
 
Life and Death on the Barrier Reef (1969)
Commissioned by Robert Raymond for documentary.
Recording:tape (Excerpts on Cassette DS Media Music)
 
Amazing Marsupials (1970)
Commissioned by Robert Raymond for documentary series "Shell's Australia".
 
The Changing Shape of Australia (1971)
Commissioned by Robert Raymond for documentary series "Shell's Australia".
 
A Land of Birds (1972)
Commissioned by Robert Raymond for documentary series "Shell's Australia".
 
The Coming of Man (1973)
Commissioned by Robert Raymond for documentary series "Shell's Australia".
 
Aliens Among Us (1974)
Commissioned by Densey Clyne for documentary.
 
Artisans of Australia (1985)
Commissioned by Film Australia for 4 short documentaries on heritage crafts.
 
Fantasy (1990)
Commissioned by Combridge Pty Ltd for feature film.
 
Cult of Death (1992)
Commissioned by Combridge Pty Ltd for feature film.
RETURN TO COMPOSER LISTING