Personal profile
Biography
Bruce Crossman is a composer with interests across visual arts, East Asian architecture, poetry and music (classical, traditional world and improvisatory musics) with a focus on Asian-Pacific musical identity. He holds a Doctor of Creative Arts from Wollongong University with other degrees from the University of York and Otago University and has achieved international recognition with performances in Australasia, Asia (China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Philippines), Europe and the USA. Highlights include working with the Kanagawa Philharmonic (Japan), Korean Symphony Orchestra, New Asia String Quartet at the Pacific Rim Music Festival in the USA, and with Kawamura Taizan (shakuhachi) at the Asian Music Festival 2010 in Tokyo and shihans Tomotsune Bizan and Kikuchi Kouzan’s for the Opening Concert ‘Asia, Asia, Asia’, Yokohama Minato-Mirai Hall at Asian Music Festival 2014 in Japan. His practice-led research projects include performances at the ISCM World New Music Days in Beijing and Asian Composers League Festival and Conference in Taiwan in 2018, The Keyboard in the 21st Century: An International Conference for Composers, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong, SAR China in 2019, and collaborations with Korean Gugak performers, gayageum master Yi Jiyoung (Seoul) and taegum virtuoso Hyelim Kim (London) for a 2021 album release by Navona (USA). His research included working as Scholar-in-Residence, at the David C. Lam Institute for East-West Studies (LEWI) in Hong Kong. National recognition has come from Australia and New Zealand with awards and composer residencies. Highlights include a Finalist Nomination in the APRA-Australian Music Centre Classical Music Awards, Commission for The ANAM Set, Australian National Academy of Music, and the Mozart Fellowship at Otago University.
Crossman has organized multiple research projects linking practice and scholarship with international linkage and publication outcomes (performance-based and refereed). Highlights include, working with Grawemeyer Award winner Chinary Ung (USA) at Aurora Festival 2008 and invitations as a Collaborator, Aichi University of the Arts, Japan in 2015, Composer, National Sun Yat-sen University Taiwan in 2019, Panellist, at Seoul National University’s 2021 SNU Online Winter Music Festival in Korea, Scholar/Artist-in-Residence, Seoul National University, South Korea in 2022, and advisory work for the Rockefeller Foundation in New York (USA).
As a scholar he is interested in creative reflective-practice and has published several articles and edited books linking traditional musics of the Pacific Rim with European compositional techniques; several highlights include co-editing Music of the Spirit: Asian-Pacific Musical Identity with Michael Atherton, and contributing "Living Colours: An Asian-Pacific Conceptual Frame for Composition" as a chapter in Sally Macarthur’s (ed) Music’s Immanent Future: The Deleuzian Turn in Music Studies (Ashgate, 2016).
Crossman is an experienced teacher who has held multiple academic positions and supervised many postgraduates, including composers, improvisers and visual artists. He has served as Discipline/Professional Field Leader, Music and Music Therapy (2019-22) and currently holds the position of Associate Professor, Music in the Music and Music Therapy Discipline, School of Humanities and Communication Arts at Western Sydney University.
Related links
Qualifications
Doctor of Creative Arts, University of Wollongong
Master of Philosophy(Research)
Master of Music(Research), University of Otago
Bachelor of Music, University of Otago
Research keywords
- Composer, Scholar, Musician, Improviser, Asia-Pacific Musical Identity
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
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SDG 11 Sustainable Cities and Communities
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Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
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A Korean-Australian Aesthetic Within Breathing Materiality of Spirit and Being
Crossman, B., 23 Apr 2026, Composers and Musicologists on the Present and Future of Art Music: Crossing into Distance. Holloway, G. (ed.). First Edition 2026 ed. Newcastle upon Tyne, UK: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, p. 52-74 23 p.Research output: Chapter in Book / Conference Paper › Chapter › peer-review
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Lingering, Suspended in Space: A Multi-Artform Event at the Sydney Opera House
Crossman, B. & Tay, V., Mar 2026, In: TAASA Review: The Journal of The Asian Arts Society of Australia. 35 , 1, p. 20-21 2 p., 8.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Fire-Huǒ-Afi: for Guzheng and Percussion)
Crossman, B. (Composer), 3 Jul 2025Research output: Creative Works › Composition
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Visual-Music Energies
Crossman, B. (Producer), Tay, V. (Producer), Fagan, K. (Producer), Milne, A., Rezaei, B. (Designer), Frendo, A. (Producer), Liu , Y. (Producer), Zhao, C. (Performer), Zhang, S. (Performer), Hill, J. (Performer), O'Reilly, O. (Performer), Tang, Y. (Performer), Pham, K. (Performer), Mostafa, J. (Performer), Burgess, N. (Performer), Blom, D. (Performer), Smyly, B. (Performer), Encarnacao, J. (Performer), Maclean, C. (Composer) & Mallas, C. (Designer) & 9 others, , 6 Sept 2025Research output: Creative Works › Performance
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Light Glances Between Things: For String Orchestra
Crossman, B., 2024Research output: Creative Works › Composition
Projects
- 3 Finished
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Between sound and silence: expression of transcendence and ma in a musical work and exegesis
Maclean, C. (PI) & Crossman, B. (Advisor)
16/09/14 → 31/12/15
Project: Research
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Gentleness Suddenness Project
Crossman, B. (PI)
Campbelltown City Council, Australia Council for the Arts
1/12/12 → 27/09/13
Project: Research
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Music of the Spirit: Investigations into Asian-Pacific Musical Identity within the Western Art-Music Tradition
Crossman, B. (PI) & Atherton AM, M. (Investigator)
5/06/07 → 4/06/08
Project: Research
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Centre for New Zealand Music: Sounz (Event)
Crossman, W. (Member)
1 Jan 2001 → …Activity: Membership › Organisation
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Australasian Performing Right Association Ltd (Event)
Crossman, W. (Member)
1 Jan 2000 → …Activity: Membership › Association
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Australian Music Centre Ltd (Event)
Crossman, W. (Member)
1 Jan 2000 → …Activity: Membership › Organisation
Press/Media
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Review: Seoul Haegeum Ensemble: Premiere of Haegeum Solo Works September 21, 2025 – Seoul Donhwamun Gugakdang
Crossman, B. & Choi, E.
6/10/25
1 item of Media coverage
Press/Media
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Performance: Seoul Donhwamun Traditional Theater
Crossman, B. & Choi, E.
21/09/25
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Community Engagment
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Asian Music Festival 2025 in Kawasaki, Tokyo, Japan
Crossman, B. & Shinoda, M.
4/02/25
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Community Engagment
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