VI.BE

I am a composer and saxophonist currently based in Brussels but originally from Melbourne, Australia. My output ranges from solo performances of free improvisation to large scale works for wind orchestra. My music embraces juxtaposition, contrast and employing composition to enhance an improvisers expression of reality. Musical influences include Olivier Messiaen, Tim Berne, and Frank Zappa. Extramusical and theoretical influences include Hungarian visual artist László Moholy-Nagy, theorist Ed Sarath, and various concepts explored in chemistry. After studying at The Australian National University, Monash University and The University of Copenhagen I moved to Slovenia where I collaborated in a number of projects and began leading the ensemble Tolmači. During this period I also founded the Copenhagen-based ensemble Light, Time and Space and released an album at the end of 2023. Subsequently, I relocated to Brussels where I began a residency at Werkplaats Walter exploring and developing my original compositions for small ensemble. The residency lead to the creation of four albums; Transfiguring Photograms, Trinity: Consciousness, Art and Hypostasis, Infinite Reflections and Andrej Thompson + Piergiorgio Pirro.