David Michael Bennett

David Michael Bennett was born in 1970 in the United Kingdom. He studied composition at the Royal Academy of Music in London, where he was a pupil of Sir Peter Maxwell Davies. His early works were influenced by British modernism, but he later developed a more accessible, melodic style.

Bennett moved to Australia in the late 1990s, where he became a prominent figure in the film music industry. He scored the award-winning documentary In the Shadow of the Hill (2001) and the feature The Last Wave (2005). His concert works include the Symphony No. 1 (2008), premiered by the Sydney Symphony Orchestra. He has also conducted the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra.

Bennett's score for The Last Wave was praised for its use of indigenous Australian instruments, a collaboration with didgeridoo player William Barton. He has also worked with the Australian Chamber Orchestra on multimedia projects. His opera The Burning Piano (2015) was performed at the Perth Festival.

Beyond film and concert work, Bennett has composed music for video games, including the soundtrack for Outback Quest (2012). He is also an advocate for music education, having founded the Young Composers' Workshop in Sydney. He has published a textbook, Scoring for the Screen (2018), used in several Australian universities.

Didgeridoo

An Australian Aboriginal wind instrument, often used in contemporary classical music.

Symphony

A large-scale orchestral work, typically in four movements.