Bryony Marks is an Australian composer of film scores and theatre music, for which she has won several awards and been nominated for many others. Among her television credits are Please Like Me and Barracuda, and films include Berlin Syndrome and 2040. She has also composed the music for many of the films directed by her husband, Matthew Saville.

Marks is acclaimed for her hallmark "fascination with music from different cultures and 20th century form" and is sought after for her "classical flair and insider's perspective".[1]

Early life and education

Marks' parents own(ed) a vineyard in Gembrook, in the Dandenongs, near Melbourne in Victoria. She was born around 1971.[2]

She completed a Postgraduate Diploma in Music Composition for Film and Television at the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music, part of University of Melbourne, achieving first class honours. In 2001[3] she attended the inaugural program for composers at the Australian National Academy of Music,[4] where she studied under Simon Bainbridge and Karen Tanaka.[5]

She first met her future husband, filmmaker Matt Saville, at the Victorian College of the Arts.[2]

Career

Marks composed music for several stage productions in the 1990s,[6] and in 2004 participated in MODART05, an event hosted by Song Company and the Australian Music Centre.[3]

In September 2007, she composed the music for Saville's opera, Crossing Live. Staged at the Malthouse Theatre in Melbourne,[7][8][9] the work won Victorian Green Room Awards in New Operatic Work and Best New Australian Opera Work.[10]

Marks has written the scores for several films and TV series directed by Saville, including his debut feature film, Noise (2007); Felony (2013); Please Like Me;[4] and his 2007 documentary The King: The Story of Graham Kennedy, about Australian entertainer Graham Kennedy.[3] She composed the music for the Chris Lilley series We Can Be Heroes (2005), Summer Heights High (2007),[7] and Angry Boys.[3]

She teamed up with the creator of Please Like Me, Josh Thomas, for the second time, to create the music for his TV series made in the US, Everything's Gonna Be Okay, in 2020–2021.[11] In 2021 Marks released LOCKDOWN Birdsong, featuring Kristian Chong and Erica Kennedy, which reflected on the first Melbourne COVID-19 lockdown.[5][12] The work was accompanied by a short film showing footage of the surroundings that inspired the music.[13]

Other film and TV credits include:

Marks has said:[14]

I am drawn to projects which move me, which speak to the human condition in all its crazy glory. There's no one subject, genre, sub or dominant culture that particularly resonates for me. Rather I would say my favourite projects have shared an element of authenticity, of honesty, expressed in manifold ways.

Awards

Year Award Work Result Reference
2017 Film Critics Circle of Australia Award Best Original Score Berlin Syndrome Won [4]
2019 9th AACTA Awards Best Original Score in Television Lambs of God Won [4][5]
2019 9th AACTA Awards Best Original Score in a Documentary 2040 Won [4][5]
2019 APRA AMCOS Screen Music Awards Best Music for a Documentary 2040 Nominated [15]
2019 APRA AMCOS Screen Music Awards Best Soundtrack Album 2040 Nominated [16]
2019 APRA AMCOS Screen Music Awards Best Music for a Mini-Series or Telemovie Lambs of God Nominated [17]
2020 APRA AMCOS Screen Music Awards Best Music for a Television Series or Serial Everything's Gonna Be OK Nominated [18]
2020 APRA AMCOS Screen Music Awards Best Soundtrack Album Lambs of God Nominated [19]

Personal life

Marks married Australian film director Matthew Saville in 2003 at her parents' vineyard, and they have two sons.[2]

References

  1. ^ "Composer to Composer Interview #2". Australian Guild Of Screen Composers. Retrieved 4 May 2023.
  2. ^ a b c Albert, Jane (4 October 2013). "Two of us: Matthew Saville and Bryony Marks". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 15 August 2022. ... Bryony Marks, 42,...
  3. ^ a b c d e "Bryony Marks : Represented Artist Profile". Australian Music Centre. April 2013. Retrieved 15 August 2022.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Bryony Marks". inSync Music. Retrieved 15 August 2022.
  5. ^ a b c d "Bryony Marks". Strange Loops. Retrieved 15 August 2022.
  6. ^ Bryony Marks on AusStage
  7. ^ a b "Behind the scenes in amoral times". The Age. 12 September 2007. Retrieved 15 August 2022.
  8. ^ "Crossing Live". AusStage. Retrieved 12 August 2022.
  9. ^ Lipski, Avi (22 September 2007). "Crossing Live - ChamberMade". Australian Stage Online. Retrieved 12 August 2022.
  10. ^ "Crossing Live". AustLit. 29 April 2014. Retrieved 12 August 2022.
  11. ^ a b Heitmann-Ryce, Liam (25 November 2020). "Bryony Marks: The Mind Behind The Music of Please Like Me and Barracuda". FilmInk. Retrieved 12 August 2022.
  12. ^ "Share Your Story and Listen to the LOCKDOWN Birdsong of Australian Composer Bryony Marks". The Curb. 7 December 2021. Retrieved 15 August 2022.
  13. ^ "Share Your Story and Listen to the LOCKDOWN Birdsong of Australian Composer Bryony Marks - The Curb". www.thecurb.com.au. 7 December 2021. Retrieved 4 May 2023.
  14. ^ Heitmann-Ryce, Liam (20 February 2021). "Hey, Barracuda! Queer TV In Australia, With Composer Bryony Marks". Star Observer. Retrieved 15 August 2022.
  15. ^ "Screen Music Awards - APRA AMCOS & AGSC". APRA AMCOS. Retrieved 4 May 2023.
  16. ^ "Screen Music Awards - APRA AMCOS & AGSC". APRA AMCOS. Retrieved 4 May 2023.
  17. ^ "Screen Music Awards - APRA AMCOS & AGSC". APRA AMCOS. Retrieved 4 May 2023.
  18. ^ "Screen Music Awards - APRA AMCOS & AGSC". APRA AMCOS. Retrieved 4 May 2023.
  19. ^ "Screen Music Awards - APRA AMCOS & AGSC". APRA AMCOS. Retrieved 4 May 2023.

Further reading

External links

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