Andrew Ford (born 1957) is an English-born Australian composer, writer, and radio presenter, known for The Music Show on ABC Radio National.

Early life and education

Andrew Ford was born in 1957 in Liverpool, UK. He attended St Olave's Grammar School in Orpington, Kent, then studied at Lancaster University with Edward Cowie and John Buller. As a student, a meeting with Sir Michael Tippett had a profound influence on him, when he told him "to forget about musical systems and trust his instincts".

Career

Ford was a research fellow in music Bradford University from 1978 to 1982. After moving to Australia, he lectured at the School of Creative Arts at the University of Wollongong, NSW, from 1983 to 1995, and during this time earned a PhD for his thesis on musical word setting from Elvis Costello to Elliott Carter. Ford was composer-in-residence with the Australian Chamber Orchestra (1992–94), held the Peggy Glanville-Hicks Composer Fellowship from 1998 to 2000 and was awarded a two-year fellowship by the Music Board of the Australia Council for the Arts for 2005 to 2006. He was appointed composer-in-residence at the Australian National Academy of Music in 2009.

Other activities

He has written widely on music and published or co-written eleven books. For the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, he wrote, presented and co-produced the radio series Illegal Harmonies, Dots on the Landscape, Music and Fashion, Earth Dances and Three Front Doors a Paddock (with painter Ben Quilty) Since 1995 he has presented The Music Show on ABC Radio National.

Recognition and awards

APRA / Art Music Awards

The APRA Awards are presented annually from 1982 by the Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA). They include the Art Music Awards (until 2009 Classical Music Awards) which are distributed by APRA and the Australian Music Centre (AMC). These awards include:

Selected works

Stage works

Orchestral

Concertos

Vocal and choral

Ensemble

Instrumental

Radiophonic

Books