Martyn Hancock : Associate Artist
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Random Audio Sample: First Victory : Australia's First Naval Victory, for wind orchestra with narration by Martyn Hancock, from the CD Selected Works by AMC Represented Artists, vol. 109. |
Martyn Hancock is an Australian composer and arranger specialising in works for wind ensembles. He moved to Australia in 2007 after serving over seventeen years in the British Royal Marines Band Service as a tuba, string bass and bass guitar player.
Martyn has been a keen composer and arranger of music for many years, and his first successful work was in 2001 when he won a competition to compose a march to mark the centenary of Her Majesty's Submarine Service. Titled "The Jolly Roger" it has since been adopted as the 'regimental' march of HM Submarines. Coincidentally, in 2014, Martyn also composed the march to commemorate the centenary of Australia's Submarine Service.
Other compositions include several more military marches, descriptive music, solo items, and a four movement forty-minute symphony of patriotic music that was recorded for Australia's 2013 International Fleet Review. Much of Martyn's music has been professionally recorded and he has been lucky enough to have had his works performed at high profile events across the globe in some of the world's top venues, and in front of numerous dignitaries including Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktouma, the Sultan of Brunei, the Governor General of Australia, the Governor of NSW and the Prime Minister of Australia.
In September 2016, Martyn was the winner of the inaugural Australian Wind Symphony Composition Competition with his work "Aurora Australis". It was premiered in July 2017 by the Sydney Wind Ensemble at Sydney Town Hall during the Australian International Music Festival.
In 2018, Martyn was commissioned to compose a work with narration for the Centenary of Armistice. Titled "First Victory" the work tells the story of Australia's first naval battle between HMAS Sydney and SMS Emden. It was professionally recorded by the Royal Australian Navy Band and premiered at Angel Place, Sydney, on 11 November 2018 with Mike Carlton narrating. The recording can be heard here.
Martyn currently resides in Hobart and is currently enjoying being the Bandmaster in charge of the fantastic Royal Australian Navy Band Tasmania. He holds a BMus(Hons) in composition and performing, an LRSM in conducting, an ARCM in performing on tuba, and an AMusTCL in theory and composition. In 2011, he was awarded an Australia Day Medallion for his musical compositions and arrangements, and in 2014 he was awarded a Conspicuous Service Medal in the Queen's Birthday Honours.
Martyn Hancock — current to May 2019
Selected Commissions
| Work | Commission Details | |
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First Victory : Australia's First Naval Victory, for wind orchestra with narration (2018) | Commissioned by the Royal Australian Navy Band for the Centenary of Armistice 1918-2018 |