# Liza Lim

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Australian composer (born 1966)

**Liza Lim** [AM](/source/Member_of_the_Order_of_Australia) (born 30 August 1966) is an Australian [composer](/source/Composer). Lim writes concert music ([chamber](/source/Chamber_music) and orchestral works) as well as [music theatre](/source/Music_theatre) and has collaborated with artists on [installation](/source/Installation_art) and [video](/source/Video_art) projects. Her work reflects her interests in Chinese culture and the aesthetics of [Aboriginal art](/source/Indigenous_Australian_art) and shows the influence of non-Western music performance practice.[1]

## Early life and education

Liza Lim (林瑞玲) was born in [Perth](/source/Perth), Western Australia, to Chinese parents. They were doctors who during her early years spent time working and studying in [Brunei](/source/Brunei), and she was sent to boarding school.[2] At the age of 11, she was encouraged by her teachers at [Presbyterian Ladies' College, Melbourne](/source/Presbyterian_Ladies'_College%2C_Melbourne) to turn from piano and violin to composition.[3] Lim earned her [PhD](/source/PhD) from the [University of Queensland](/source/University_of_Queensland), her [Master of Music](/source/Master_of_Music) from the [University of Melbourne](/source/University_of_Melbourne) (1996), and her [Bachelor of Arts](/source/Bachelor_of_Arts) from the [Victorian College of the Arts](/source/Victorian_College_of_the_Arts) (1986). She studied composition in Melbourne with Richard David Hames and [Riccardo Formosa](/source/Ric_Formosa) and in Amsterdam with [Ton de Leeuw](/source/Ton_de_Leeuw).

## Career

Lim has been a guest lecturer at the [Darmstadt Summer School](/source/Darmst%C3%A4dter_Ferienkurse), the [University of California, San Diego](/source/University_of_California%2C_San_Diego),[1] [Cornell University](/source/Cornell_University),[1] [Getty Research Institute](/source/Getty_Center), and the [IRCAM](/source/IRCAM) Agora Festival. She was a lecturer of [composition](/source/Musical_composition#Composing_music) at Melbourne University in 1991. Lim was the guest curator for the twilight concert series of the 2006 [Adelaide Festival of Arts](/source/Adelaide_Festival).

Lim has been commissioned by performers including the [Los Angeles Philharmonic](/source/Los_Angeles_Philharmonic) (for whom she wrote *Ecstatic Architecture* for the inaugural season of the [Walt Disney Concert Hall](/source/Walt_Disney_Concert_Hall)),[1] [Ensemble InterContemporain](/source/Ensemble_InterContemporain),[1] [Ensemble Modern](/source/Ensemble_Modern),[1] [BBC Symphony Orchestra](/source/BBC_Symphony_Orchestra), [Arditti String Quartet](/source/Arditti_Quartet), and Cikada Ensemble. Her work has featured at the [Festival d'automne à Paris](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Festival_d%27automne_%C3%A0_Paris&action=edit&redlink=1) [[fr](https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Festival_d%27automne_%C3%A0_Paris)], [MaerzMusik](/source/MaerzMusik), [Venice Biennale](/source/Venice_Biennale),[1] [Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival](/source/Huddersfield_Contemporary_Music_Festival),[1] and several Australian festivals.

Since 1986, Lim has worked with members of the [ELISION Ensemble](/source/ELISION_Ensemble);[4] she is married to Daryl Buckley, its artistic director.[1] In 2005, Lim was appointed the composer-in-residence with the [Sydney Symphony Orchestra](/source/Sydney_Symphony_Orchestra) for two years.[1] Among other works, the orchestra commissioned—jointly with the radio station [Bayerischer Rundfunk](/source/Bayerischer_Rundfunk)—her work *The Compass*; in its premiere performance on 23 August 2006 at the [Sydney Opera House](/source/Sydney_Opera_House) it was conducted by [Alexander Briger](/source/Alexander_Briger) and [William Barton](/source/William_Barton_(musician)) played the [didgeridoo](/source/Didgeridoo).

Sponsored by the [German Academic Exchange Service](/source/German_Academic_Exchange_Service), she spent one year in 2007/2008 as artist-in-residence in Berlin where she developed her third opera, *[The Navigator](/source/The_Navigator_(opera))*, inspired by [*Tristan and Isolde*](/source/Tristan_and_Iseult) to a [libretto](/source/Libretto) by Patricia Sykes.[1] She was appointed professor in composition at the [University of Huddersfield](/source/University_of_Huddersfield) in March 2008.[1][5]

In February 2017, she was appointed to the composition unit at the [Sydney Conservatorium of Music](/source/Sydney_Conservatorium_of_Music),[6] where she is the Sculthorpe Chair of Australian Music.[7]

## Selected works

### Stage works

- 1991–93 *The Oresteia. A Memory Theatre*, opera

- 1994–95 *Bar-do'i-thos-grol*, 7-night installation performance based on *[The Tibetan Book of the Dead](/source/The_Tibetan_Book_of_the_Dead)*, artist Domenico de Clario

- 1991–99 *Yuè Lìng Jié (Moon Spirit Feasting)*, A Chinese ritual street opera, libretto by Beth Yahp

- 2005 *Glass House Mountains*, installation work with artist Judy Watson

- 2008 [*The Navigator*](/source/The_Navigator_(opera)), opera for 5 singers, 16 instruments and electronics, libretto by Patricia Sykes

### Orchestra works

- 1994–95 *Sri-Vidya, Utterances of Adoration* for choir and orchestra

- 1996 *The Alchemical Wedding* for orchestra (22 instruments)

- 2001–02 *Ecstatic Architecture*, commissioned for the inaugural season at the Walt Disney Concert Hall

- 2004 *Immer Fliessender (Ever Flowing)*, a companion-piece for Gustav Mahler's Ninth Symphony

- 2005 *Flying Banner*, "Fanfare" for orchestra, after Wang To

- 2005–06 *The Compass* for orchestra with flute and didgeridoo soloists

- 2010 *Pearl, Ochre, Hair String* for orchestra

- 2010 *The Guest* for orchestra with [recorder](/source/Recorder_(musical_instrument)) soloist

- 2024 *A Sutured World* for orchestra and cello soloist, for [Nicolas Altstaedt](/source/Nicolas_Altstaedt); co-commissioned by [Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra](/source/Bavarian_Radio_Symphony_Orchestra), [Melbourne Symphony Orchestra](/source/Melbourne_Symphony_Orchestra), Amsterdam Cello Biennale, [Casa da Música](/source/Casa_da_M%C3%BAsica) Porto[8]

### Ensemble works

- 1988–89 *Garden of Earthly Desire* for flute, oboe, clarinet, electric guitar, mandolin, harp, violin, viola, violoncello, contrabass, percussion

- 1989 *Voodoo Child* for soprano solo, flute/piccolo, clarinet, violin, violoncello, trombone, piano, percussion

- 1990 *Diabolical Birds* for piccolo, bass clarinet, piano, violin, violoncello, vibraphone

- 1993 *Li Shang Yin* for coloratura soprano, 15 instruments

- 1995 *Street of Crocodiles* for flute, oboe, alto saxophone, alto trombone, cimbalom/cymbal, violin, viola, violoncello, baroque violoncello

- 1999 *Veil* for flute/bass flute, bass clarinet, trumpet in C, percussion, piano, violin, violoncello

- 2001 *Machine* for Contacting the Dead for twenty-seven instruments

- 2005 *Songs Found in Dream* for oboe, bass clarinet, alto sax, trumpet, 2 percussion, viola, cello

- 2005 *Mother Tongue* for soprano and 15 instruments, poems by Patricia Sykes[9]

- 2006 *Shimmer Songs* for string quartet, harp, 3 percussion

- 2006 *City of Falling Angels* for 12 percussion

- 2007 *Sensorium* for soprano, C-tenor recorders, baroque harp, viola d'amore

- 2010–11 *Tongue of the Invisible*, a work for improvising pianist, baritone and 16 musicians

- 2014 *Winding Bodies: 3 Knots* for alto flute, bass clarinet, piano, percussion, violin, viola, violoncello and double bass

### Chamber music

- 1996 *Inguz (Fertility)* for clarinet in A, violoncello

- 1997 *The Heart's Ear* for flute/piccolo, clarinet, violin I, violin II, viola, violoncello

- 1999 *Sonorous Bodies* for koto and voice solo, in collaboration with video artist Judith Wright

- 2004 *In the Shadow's Light* for string quartet, commissioned by Festival d'automne à Paris for the Kairos Quartett

- 2004–05 *The Quickening* for soprano and qin, commissioned by the Festival d'Automne à Paris

- 2008 *Ochred String* for oboe, viola, cello, double bass

- 2013–14 *The Weaver's Knot* for string quartet

### Solo works

- 1992 *Amulet* for viola solo

- 1997 *Philtre for Hardanger* fiddle solo or retuned violin

- 2007 *Wild Winged–one* for solo trumpet

- 2007 *Weaver–of–Fictions* for alto Ganassi recorder

- 2007 *The Long Forgetting* for tenor Ganassi recorder

- 2008 *Well of Dreams* for solo alto trombone

- 2008 *Sonorous Body* for solo B♭ clarinet

- 2011 *Love Letter* for solo instrument

## Awards and nominations

In 2007, Lim's Sydney Symphony Composer Residency was nominated for an [APRA Classical Music Award](/source/APRA_Awards_(Australia)) for Outstanding Contribution by an Individual, her piece *Mother Tongue* was nominated for Best Composition by an Australian Composer, and her piece *Flying Banner (After Wang To)* won the Orchestral Work of the Year Award.[10]

In 2018, Lim won the [Don Banks Music Award](/source/Don_Banks_Music_Award), which honours a senior artist of high distinction who has made an outstanding and sustained contribution to music in Australia.[11]

The 2026 [Grawemeyer Award for Music Composition](/source/Grawemeyer_Award_for_Music_Composition) ($100,000) was awarded to Lim for her cello concerto *A Sutured World*.[8]

### Other awards

- 1996 [Australia Council](/source/Creative_Australia) fellowship

- 1996 Young Australian Creative Fellowship

- 2002 [APRA Classical Music Award](/source/APRA_Awards_(Australia)) for Best Composition[12]

- 2004 Paul Lowin Award for *Ecstatic Architecture*[13]

- 2023 [Member of the Order of Australia](/source/Order_of_Australia) in the [King's Birthday Honours](/source/2023_King's_Birthday_Honours_(Australia))[14]

- 2024 [Australian Laureate Fellowship](/source/Australian_Laureate_Fellowship)[15]

## References

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-:0_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-:0_1-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-:0_1-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-:0_1-3) [***e***](#cite_ref-:0_1-4) [***f***](#cite_ref-:0_1-5) [***g***](#cite_ref-:0_1-6) [***h***](#cite_ref-:0_1-7) [***i***](#cite_ref-:0_1-8) [***j***](#cite_ref-:0_1-9) [***k***](#cite_ref-:0_1-10) [***l***](#cite_ref-:0_1-11) Shineberg, Susan (21 April 2008). ["Lim's pulse of life"](https://www.theage.com.au/entertainment/art-and-design/lims-pulse-of-life-20080421-ge6zme.html). *The Age*. Retrieved 4 June 2025.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** Miriam Cosic, "Out on a Lim", *Weekend Australian*, 19–20 June 1999, Review, p. 16

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** Liz van der Nieuwenhof, *Hello Liza Lim, composer*, *[Weekend Australian Magazine](/source/The_Australian)*, 25–26 September 2004, p. 11

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** ["Liza Lim"](https://elision.org.au/soundhouse/liza-lim/). *ELISION Ensemble*. Retrieved 4 June 2025.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** ["Music and Music Technology News Archive"](https://web.archive.org/web/20080625194614/http://www.hud.ac.uk/mh/music/news_archive.php#mua101). University of Huddersfield. March 2008. Archived from [the original](http://www.hud.ac.uk/mh/music/news_archive.php#mua101) on 25 June 2008. Retrieved 29 April 2008.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** Campbell, Mandy (1 February 2017). ["Liza Lim joins the University of Sydney to nurture women composers"](https://www.sydney.edu.au/news-opinion/news/2017/02/01/liza-lim-joins-the-university-of-sydney-to-nurture-women-compose.html). *The University of Sydney*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20250120105919/https://www.sydney.edu.au/news-opinion/news/2017/02/01/liza-lim-joins-the-university-of-sydney-to-nurture-women-compose.html) from the original on 20 January 2025. Retrieved 3 June 2025.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** ["How Liza Lim is breaking down barriers in music composition"](https://www.sydney.edu.au/news-opinion/news/2025/03/17/how-liza-lim-is-breaking-down-barriers-in-music.html). *The University of Sydney*. 17 March 2025. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20250430193831/https://www.sydney.edu.au/news-opinion/news/2025/03/17/how-liza-lim-is-breaking-down-barriers-in-music.html) from the original on 30 April 2025. Retrieved 4 June 2025.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Briggs_8-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Briggs_8-1) Maddy Briggs (2 December 2025). ["Liza Lim wins 2026 Grawemeyer Award"](https://limelight-arts.com.au/news/liza-lim-wins-2026-grawemeyer-award/). *[Limelight](/source/Limelight_(magazine))*. Retrieved 3 December 2025.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** ["Singing in Tongues"](http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/04/28/singing-in-tongues?currentPage=alll) by [Alex Ross](/source/Alex_Ross_(music_critic)), *[The New Yorker](/source/The_New_Yorker)*, 28 April 2014; review of *Mother Tongue* at the [Miller Theatre](/source/Miller_Theatre), 2014

1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** ["2007 Art Music Awards"](https://www.apraamcos.com.au/about/supporting-the-industry/awards/art-music-awards-2007). *APRA AMCOS*. Retrieved 4 June 2025.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** ["Liza Lim wins the Don Banks Music Award"](https://www.australianmusiccentre.com.au/article/liza-lim-wins-the-don-banks-music-award). *Australian Music Centre*. 5 March 2018. Retrieved 4 June 2025.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-12)** ["Art Music Awards 2002"](https://www.apraamcos.com.au/about/supporting-the-industry/awards/art-music-awards-2002). *APRA AMCOS*. Retrieved 4 June 2025.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-13)** ["Paul Lowin Orchestral Prize"](https://www.australianmusiccentre.com.au/award/paul-lowin-orchestral-prize). *Australian Music Centre*. Retrieved 4 June 2025.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-14)** ["Media notes – AM A–L – The King's Birthday 2023 Honours List"](https://www.gg.gov.au/sites/default/files/2023-06/20230612%20-%20Media%20notes%20-%20AM%20A-L%20-%20The%20King%27s%20Birthday%202023%20Honours%20List.pdf) (PDF). *The Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia*. 12 June 2023. Retrieved 3 June 2025.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-15)** ["2024 Laureate Profile: Professor Liza Lim"](https://www.arc.gov.au/2024-laureate-profile-professor-liza-lim). *Australian Research Council*. Retrieved 19 November 2024.

## External links

- [Official website](http://lizalimcomposer.wordpress.com/)

- [Australian Music Centre artist page](http://www.australianmusiccentre.com.au/artist/lim-liza)

- [Ricordi composer biography](https://www.ricordi.com/en-US/Composers/L/Lim-Liza.aspx)

[Portal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Contents/Portals):
- [Classical music](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Classical_music)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Liza Lim](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liza_Lim) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liza_Lim?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.