Composers & WorksLachlan Skipworth

Hailed by The Australian as possessing a “rare gift as a melodist”, and by Limelight as expressing “both exquisite delicacy and tremendous power”, Australian composer Lachlan Skipworth (he/him) writes orchestral, chamber, vocal and experimental music. His vivid musical language is coloured by three years spent in Japan, where his immersion in the study of the shakuhachi bamboo flute inevitably became a part of his muse.

Winning the prestigious Paul Lowin Prize for orchestral composition in 2016 established Skipworth’s reputation; it led to a string of major commissions and a stint as composer-in-residence with the West Australian Symphony Orchestra. His orchestral work Spiritus won the 2017 Albert H Maggs Award and the New England Philharmonic’s annual call for scores, and more recently his Pine Chant won the 2023 APRA Art Music Award for chamber music. Skipworth’s recordings continue to gather critical acclaim, including a five-star Limelight review for his debut album, and an ARIA nomination for his second, as well as frequent radio play across Australia.

Skipworth’s music is performed widely at home and internationally. Recent highlights include performances by the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, the Australian String Quartet, the Tokyo Philharmonic Chorus, and the Sydney, Melbourne, and Queensland Symphony Orchestras. Premieres in 2023 included an Easter Mass for the St Georges Cathedral Consort, the Oratorio project with the West Australian Opera, and most recently The Tides of Longing - a major work for the West Australian Symphony Orchestra, WASO Chorus, Voyces and the Aquinas College Schola Cantorum, conducted by Eduardo Strausser.