Jaslyn Robertson is a Melbourne-based composer navigating an emerging career in music with advocacy for diversity in the arts. An excitement for unusual forms of expression, alternate tuning systems and innovation in notation has drawn her to unique instruments including the Theremin, double bell trombone, quartertone flugelhorn and analogue synths. Her practice is varied, with compositions ranging from multimedia and animated notation to multichannel electronic works as well as solo and chamber ensemble pieces. She has composed for world-renowned performers including ELISION’s Tristram Williams, the Argonaut String Quartet, Landesjugendensemble Neue Musik Berlin, Monash Animated Notation Ensemble, Ossicle Duo and Sydney’s ‘the music box project’, who received APRA/AMC’s Art Music Award for Excellence in Experimental Music for their concert Shallow Listening centred around Robertson’s piece. In 2021, she won the Homophonic Pride Prize to write for violinist Kyla Matsuura-Miller, and RMIT recently commissioned her for a 24.2 multichannel work. Her music has received multiple performances in Germany, including at the Deutsche Oper as part of Klangwerkstatt Festival für Neue Musik Berlin, as well as in Canada at Toronto Creative Music Lab. Locally, she has had pieces performed at the Bendigo International Festival for Exploratory Music and Tilde New Music Festival. In 2020 she received the Monash Animated Notation Ensemble commissioning prize with an online premiere and a commission for Ossicle duo supported by Creative Victoria and City of Melbourne. With poet Eloise Grills, Robertson won the national XYZ Prize for Innovation in Spoken Word Poetry for a poetry and sound collaboration. She improvises with touch-sensitive analogue synthesisers and has performed at Make it Up Club and Classical X Crazy Arms, and took an advanced professional development workshop at Melbourne Electronic Sound Studio. Jaslyn has presented workshops, papers and seminars on the topic of diversity in music and started the Queer and Now interview series in CutCommon Magazine.

Photo: Yunis Tmeizeh 2020

Excellence in Experimental Music 2020

APRA & AMC Art Music Awards (awarded to the music box project’s performance of shallow listening)

Homophonic Pride Prize 2021

3 Shades Black

Monash Animated Notation Ensemble Commissioning Prize 2020

Monash University

XYZ Prize for Innovation in Spoken Word Poetry

Arts Queensland (collaboration with poet Eloise Grills)

Classical Composition Prize 2015

Monash University

Cut It for double bell trombone, percussion and electronics

Ossicle Duo (postponed performance)

Uprooting for Minimoog synthesizer

Darmstädter Ferienkurse 2021 (online public workshop)

Computer Virus videographic score for Monash Animated Notation Ensemble

Monash Day of Play (online premiere)

Crush electronic piece, commissioned by Fluxx Club

Fluxx Club Compilation Vol. 1

Erotic Thriller soundscape and spoken word collaboration with Eloise Grills

Melbourne Spoken Word (online premiere)

Ode to Tom Jones: First Horseman of the Apocalypse multimedia collaboration with Eloise Grills

The Lifted Brow: Digital Intimacies Issues (online premiere)

Shallow Listening for voice, theremin and ensemble

Performed at BIFEM 2019 by the music box project

How to regain your virginity in 12 steps a videographic score for 5-string cello

Performed at The Burrow by Nikki Edgar

Southern Bells for bass clarinet and double bass

Performed at Fleece 2017 by Patrick Lyons and Joel Hands-Otte

Woven Tracks for 14 instruments

Performed at the Deutsche Oper Berlin as part of Klangwerkstatt 2016, and at the Konzerthaus Berlin in March 2017 by Landesjugendensemble Neue Musik Berlin

Aerobatics: 5 miniatures for string quartet

First performed by the Argonaut String Quartet at the Bendigo International Festival of Exploratory Music 2016

but to desire is my pleasure, for flute and guitar

Performed in Prato, Italy by Luciano Tristaino and Gisbert Watty

Pressure for double bass and electronics

Performed by Patrick Lyons at Tilde New Music Festival 2017

Galaxies: A Ship Full of Scientologists and Venus Express

Performed at Tilde New Music Festival 2016

Wandering for quartertone flugelhorn

Performed by Tristram Williams

Winner of the Monash University Composition Prize 2015