Leon Coward

Leon Coward (born 1991) is an Australian artist, composer, writer, film-maker and co-founder of the chamber orchestra and vocal ensemble Camerata Academica of the Antipodes.
Biography
Coward was homeschooled, and has an older sister, Imogen Coward, and brother, Taliésin Coward, who are also PhD graduates. Coward studied at the Julian Ashton Art School and at the University of New England, graduating with a first class honours Bachelor of Arts degree in 2013. He completed his PhD study in 2017, writing his dissertation on creating a new method for analyzing film design, which was subsequently used in the creation of the film 2BR02B: To Be or Naught To Be.
Early life and career
At the age of 14, Coward saw the need to promote good reading for young readers and asked his local bookstore if he could organize events on their premises. Between 2005-2008, Coward organized visits by popular Australian children's authors. He met the author and poet Libby Hathorn through these events, and later illustrated her book Vietnam Reflections which was produced as a presentation gift to the Australian War Memorial and won the 2010 Poetry Prize at the Inaugural Woollahra Library Word Festival.
Camerata Academica of the Antipodes (2014—present)
The Camerata ensemble was founded by Coward and his siblings with musicologists and multi-instrumentalists in 2014, and the ensemble internationally established their "distinctly recognisable culture and ethos" of the 'performer as co-creator'. The ensemble regularly supports the Australian Children's Music Foundation. Coward performs piano, violin, and viola, and is a baritone bass.
Compositions
Coward first premiered selections from his music for Alice's Adventures in Wonderland at the Tate Liverpool's major exhibition Alice in Wonderland (November 2011 - January 2012) which celebrated the 150th anniversary of Carroll's book, and later premiered "Beautiful Soup" in Sydney, which scholar Timothy Harries described as "logical, as though it was 'always meant to exist'." His compositional style has been frequently described as "Chopin-esque," "Neo-Romantic", Coward frequently engages audiences' imaginations before performing, such as describing ballet sequences for '"Two Kings" suite and "Imaginary Pas De Deux".<ref name"BSECS Sept 2015"/><ref name"BSECS Jun 2015"/>
Original works
* "Beautiful Soup" (lyrics from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll) - Piano & String Orchestra (2014), later re-arranged with Vocal Ensemble (2017)
* "Sans Souci" - Piano (2017)
* "Melody" - Piano & String Orchestra (2016)
* "Lament" - Piano (2015)
* "Imaginary Pas de Deux" - Piano (2015)
* "Trio" - 2 Violins & Piano (2013)
* "Consolation" - Piano (2013)
* "Nocturne" - Piano (2013)
* "The Embrace" - Piano (2012)
Arrangements
* Giuseppe Cenci. "La Mantovana" arranged for String Orchestra (2017)
* Arthur Sullivan. "Glee" from The Mikado arranged for String Orchestra (2014)
* Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. "Lacrimosa" from arranged for Solo Piano (2013)
Film scores
* 2BR02B: To Be or Naught To Be (2016)
Books
* Vietnam Reflections written by Libby Hathorn, illustrated by Leon Coward (Sydney: Pax Press, 2010)
Awards
Sydney Indie Film Festival (Sydney, Australia)
* (2016) Won—Best Sci-Fi Short / 2BR02B: To Be or Naught To Be
WILDsound Fest (Toronto, Canada)
* (2017) Won—Best Film / 2BR02B: To Be or Naught To Be
KaPow Intergalactic Film Festival (California, USA)
* (2016) Won—Best Sci-Fi Short / 2BR02B: To Be or Naught To Be
The Montreal International Wreath Awards Film Festival (Montreal, Canada)
* (2016) Nominated—Best Picture / 2BR02B: To Be or Naught To Be
(Dublin, Ireland)
* (2016) Nominated—Best Film / 2BR02B: To Be or Naught To Be
Fantastic Planet Film Festival (Sydney Australia)
* (2016) Nominated—Best Film / 2BR02B: To Be or Naught To Be
Miami Short Film Festival (Miami, USA)
* (2016) Semi-Finalist / 2BR02B: To Be or Naught To Be
Best Short Fest (San Diego, USA)
* (2016) Semi-Finalist / 2BR02B: To Be or Naught To Be

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