After a cross-country search, the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Music Office (NATSIMO) has chosen Amanda Davis, who performs under the name Dyagula, to undertake its Screen Composer Intensive this year.
Davis is a proud Wiradjuri Ngunawal song woman born in Yass, and is an established multi-genre vocalist, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, composer and vocal producer and vocal arranger. Dyagula means ‘lyrebird’ in Wiradjuri.
The three-month, Sydney-based program will see Davis explore the key practices of screen composing in production settings. She has composing space at Church Street Studios and will create of a soundtrack for a short film with guidance from screen composer mentor Ken Francis, and work on the arrangement with Jigsaw Music’s Jessica Wells.
The intensive is funded by APRA AMCOS with support from the Australian Guild of Screen Composers (AGSC), Church Street Studios, Jigsaw Music and Trackdown Studios.
Davis said she was honoured to be chosen as the 2023 recipient, praising NATSIMO for creating this pathway for First Nations composers.
“I’ve been a composer all my life but never had the platform to shine and extend my craft like this. I’m honestly over the moon to have this opportunity to learn from the best, deepen my knowledge and create a score for a short film under the mentorship of Ken Francis and orchestration/arrangement sessions with Jessica Wells,” said Amanda.
“I’m very looking forward to moving into the guest suite composing studio at Church Street Studios where I can create in my own private space and I’m also thrilled to be able to use such a renowned space like Trackdown to record the score.
“To say I feel my Ancestors behind me right now would be an understatement. I am certainly eager to learn and grow, but I am also very proud to be walking into this space and taking up space as a First Nations woman! I’m so pleased to be joining the Australian Guild of Screen Composers and excited at the idea of creating First Nations scores for Australian screen stories in the near future.”
Davis has starred in musical theatre productions including Fame; Hair; Priscilla, Queen of the Desert and The Sapphires, and was vocal producer on Christine Anu’s ARIA-nominated Island Christmas album. Across her career she has performed as a backing vocalist for artists such as Dan Sultan, Emma Donovan, Stan Walker and Troy Casser-Daly and toured extensively for Anu and the late Uncle Archie Roach.
She was also a proud Black Arm Band member and also toured Australia and internationally in Dirtsong, Murundak, and Ngungwurra Means Heart. Her group, the contemporary First Nations electro-soul trio Bow and Arrow, has played festivals, performed on NITV and at the Sydney Opera House, and caught airplay on Triple J.
Davis launched her solo Dyagula project in 2022 and was co-music director for NITV’s 10 year anniversary concert at Uluru. She has ventured into screen composing with co-writers Emily Wurramara and last year’s NATSIMO Screen Composer Intensive participant Rhyan Clapham (DOBBY) on Marringa Lullaby for ABC Kids, and composed a work for Apple and The Art Gallery Of NSW.
“We are thrilled to announce and congratulate Dyagula on her selection. Dyagula is an incredible multi-instrumentalist and vocalist with a broad range of experiences leading, accompanying and composing musical experiences in contemporary, theatre and art music installations nationwide,” said NATISMO manager Jacob Ridgeway said.
“Dyagula has been working on various screen projects, and we can’t wait to see what knowledge and networks she will gain in this sector. The NATSIMO Screen Composer Intensive is now in its second year, and we hope to continue to create meaningful opportunities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander music creators in the screen industry.”
The AGSC provides, networking, and observational experiences for the intensive program, with president Dale Cornelius praising Davis’s talent.
“The AGSC is committed to supporting diversity and inclusion in the screen industry, as well as self-determined outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. We’re excited to work with NATSIMO on this important program and to support the next generation of screen composers in Australia,” he said.
As the program’s inaugural participant, DOBBY was mentored by APRA Screen Music Award-winning composer Amanda Brown. The creative outcome resulted in his composition, Spring. He recently signed to Sony Music Publishing.