Profiles

Paul Clift was born in Melbourne, Australia in 1978. He currently lives in New York, where he is enrolled in the doctoral programme in composition at Columbia University, receiving tuition from Fabien Lévy & Tristan Murail. Paul obtained a Masters in Music from King's College, London, where he studied with George Benjamin. He has also studied in Paris with Jean-Luc Hervé & Philippe Leroux. In 2007-09, he participated in the New Music Technology & Composition Cursus programme at IRCAM, under the direction of Yan Maresz. This culminated in the premier of a new work for 6 musicians and dance, 'With my limbs in the dark', created in collaboration with prominent French choreographer Alban Richard and performed by Ensemble l'Instant Donné & Laurie Giordano during the Agora Festival in 2009.
Paul has participated in festivals such as Royaumont Voix Nouvelles, Centre Acanthes, Domaine Forget & IMPULS, allowing him further study with eminent composers such as Brian Ferneyhough, Beat Furrer, Michaël Levinas & Gerard Pesson. His works have been performed in many countries throughout the world by renowned ensembles such as Nouvel Ensemble Moderne (Quebec), Ensemble Cairn, L'Itinéraire & l'Instant Donné (France), Ensemble Contrechamps (Switzerland), Lontano Ensemble (U.K) & Klangforum Wien (Austria). In 2006 Paul received a bursary from the Australian Council for the Arts. Current projects include the creation of new works for the I.C.E Ensemble and for pianist Ashley Hribar to be performed in 2010.
Among Paul's plans for the future is the creation of a Summer new-music festival in south-eastern Australia, based on European & North American models. Paul also maintains his own web-site: www.paulclift.net