Churchill Fellow, Nicole Canham works in mainstream classical performance specialising in chamber music, and collaborates with a range of artists from outside the world of music – theatre, film, photography, visual art and dance – exploring connections between artists and audiences. Recent work has included concerts with the quartet Clarity, participation in Chamber Made Opera’s performance and recording of Helen Gifford’s Exile, launched as an i-pad application, and residencies with new media artist Sarah Kaur at Punctum Live Arts, Victoria and the Mexican National Centre for New Music and Sonic Arts. Engagements in 2010 included concerts with Claude Delangle for Henri Selmer, Paris as part of their Concerts at La Fontaine series, performances at the UNAM Esceula Nacional de Musica Clarinet Festival, the 12 Nights Festival of electro-acoustic music, Miami and the Morelia International Film Festival. In November she performed with duo partner Sarah Kaur (new media artist) at the Visiones Sonoras Festival, Mexico. Nicole is currently engaged in a major commissioning project of new works for tarogato and electronics, and in the last 12 months has premiered 10 new works in concerts in Australia, France, Mexico and the USA. She is currently engaged in an international collaborative project called Hourglass, working with a team of Mexican and Australian composers, video and installation artists. With the company Polyartistry she is developing a project involving crowdsourcing and experimental opera in partnership with Opera Australia.
After completing a Bachelor of Music Degree in Performance at the Australian National University School of Music, Nicole undertook post graduate study with renowned French clarinettist Philippe Cuper at the CNR de Versailles, obtaining her Prix de Perfectionnement and returning to Australia in 2003. Specialising in chamber music performance and presentation, Nicole has performed at festivals around Australia, including The Castlemaine State Festival, Four Winds, The Camden Haven Festival, The Adelaide Fringe Festival, The Darwin Youth Festival and the National Folk Festival. With the quartet Clarity, Nicole has performed internationally throughout Belgium, France and the UK, making their international debut at St-Martin-in-the-Fields. Her orchestral experience includes performances as part of the Australian Youth Orchestra Camerata, and with the Sydney Symphony, Tasmanian Symphony, Canberra Symphony and Australian Opera and Ballet Orchestras. Nicole’s discography includes recordings for The Anthology of Australian Music, and the Tall Poppies and Move labels. She has been a Move Records artist since 2005.