Graeme Morton at tutti world youth music beijing

Graeme Morton
Conductor, Composer, Music Educator

Director of Music St Peter's Lutheran College Brisbane

Graeme Morton is one of Australia's eclectic choral musicians, with a wealth of experience as a conductor, teacher, composer and broadcaster of choral music. For twenty-eight years Graeme was Director of Music at St Peters Lutheran College, where he is founded and directed the St Peters Chorale. In 2011 he commenced his new appointment as Choral Conducting Fellow in the School of Music, University of Queensland. He is also Director of Music at St John’s Anglican Cathedral, Brisbane and Music Director of the Brisbane Chamber Choir.

Graeme holds a Master of Music(Organ) from the University of Queensland, and was formerly Sub-Organist at St John's Anglican Cathedral. As a composer Graeme is published by Augsburg Fortress, Kjos Music, and Morton Music. Graeme is particularly keen to find interesting new choral works to bring to his singers and audiences. To this end he has commissioned many of the pieces that have become Australian choral classics - including "Past Life Melodies" and "Ngana" - from composers such as Paul-Antoni Bonetti, Iain Grandage, Sarah Hopkins, Stephen Leek, Matthew Orlovich, Vincent Plush Paul Stanhope and Joseph Twist.

He has also conducted several Australian premières, including Morten Lauridsen's "Lux Aeterna”, Benjamin Britten’s “The Company of Heaven" and “The World of the Spirit”, Andrew Carter’s “Benedicite”, Javia Busto’s “Requiem” and Dominic Argento’s “A Toccata of Galuppi’s”. With the release of the CD Until I Saw in 1990 (winner of the National Critics Award for the best performance of an Australian Choral Composition, performing a work that Graeme had commissioned of Stephen Leek) this country received what was probably the first recording devoted entirely to Australian choral music. Since then Graeme’s support of an Australian choral voice has remained unabated.

As Co-Founder and first Director of The Australian Voices, Graeme helped establish a new awareness of Australian choral music. He also hosts a weekly radio programme of choral Music titled “The Choir Room” on radio 4MBS.

He has toured overseas on numerous occasions, including Finland, Russia, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Austria, Poland, The Czech republic, Hungary, Italy, the United Kingdom, Japan, North America and New Zealand. He has lectured in the Summer Programme at Westminster Choir College, Princeton, New Jersey, and in 1996 was Visiting Professor of Choral Music at the famed St Olaf College in Minnesota. As a Churchill Fellow he observed choral leadership in the United States and in Canada. In 2011 he received the Brisbane Lord Mayor’s Australia Day Cultural Award.