Aristea Mellos is a Greek-Australian composer of contemporary classical music whose compositional voice has been described as “unnerving and awe-inspiring” (Limelight Magazine 2020). Born on the island of Crete, she received her formative musical training in Sydney, where she was an avid chorister and also studied classical piano.
In 2023, her Preludes were awarded of the Albert H. Maggs Composition Award. A winner of ABC Classic’s Gallipoli Songs Competition, Aristea is a recipient of grants from Creative Australia (‘23, ‘14), Create NSW (‘20, ‘21) the Presser Foundation (‘15), the Earle Brown Foundation (‘16), the American Australian Association (‘13, ‘14) and the Eastman School of Music (Professional Development Award ‘14). Aristea is a represented artist of The Australian Music Centre. Her music has been published by the Capliano Review, and Soundboard Magazine, and has been released and broadcast by Hyperion Records, ABC Classic, NPR, Tall Poppies, Artist Share, Xenofone, WAYO 104.3FM, and Fine Music.
As a composer who focuses on art songs and intimate chamber music, Mellos has worked closely with many notable soloists including pianists: Bernadette Harvey, Stephanie McCallum, Erin Helyard, Lee Dionne, Ada Arumeh Kim Lowery, Corey Hamm, and Daniel Pesca, vocalists: Jane Sheldon, Helen Zhibing Huang, Anna Dowsley, Michael Lampard, Sophia Burgos and Madeline Cain, and instrumentalists: Elinor Frey, Josinaldo Costa, Zach Sheets, Phil Pierick and Emlyn Johnson.
A fellow of Art Song Lab (VISI 2013), the AYO's Composer School (2010), and the Bowdoin International Music Festival (2009), Aristea holds a Doctorate (DMA) and Master's (MM) in Composition and Piano from The Eastman School of Music (University of Rochester 2017, 2012). In 2010, she graduated with Honors Class I from the Sydney Conservatorium of Music (University of Sydney) and she also holds an A.Mus A. in piano performance.
Prizes and scholarships include: the Howard Hanson Ensemble Prize (2015), the Bernard Rogers Memorial Prize (2014), the T.A. Prize for Teaching Excellence (2014), the Belle S. Gitelman Prize (2016 & 2011), the Paul Sacher Scholarship (2010-2012), the Doris Burnett Ford Scholarship (2006-2010), and the Roy Agnew Memorial Fund (2006). Her primary teachers have included Ricardo Zohn-Muldoon, Carlos Sanchez-Gutierrez, David Liptak, Robert Morris, Lisa Bielawa, Nigel Butterley, and Trevor Pearce.
Aristea has a long association with Ossia New Music (having sat on the board in 2011-12 & 2014-15), and is the co-founder of The Ritsos Project, a festival that fosters cross-cultural exchange between the United States and Greece. Recent projects include the joint artistic directorship of The Sydney Bach Society - a recital series in Sydney, Australia that promotes young Australian performers and composers.
Download Aristea's CV here.
