EDUCATION
2018 – 2023 Doctor of Philosophy, The University of Sydney, Sydney Conservatorium of Music, Acoustic Sound Lab
2022 Korean Cultural Foundation Research Fellow: 6 months of traditional Korean singing tuition and research in Seoul, South Korea
2012 – 2015 Bachelor of Music (Performance) (Jazz Double Bass) with Honours Class I The University of Sydney, Sydney Conservatorium of Music
2015 Manhattan School of Music, exchange
SKILLS AND COMPETENCIES
Established international career as a composer and sound designer in theatre, film, and large-scale art installations incorporating acoustic and electronic composition
Extensive international performing and recording experience as a cellist, double bassist, and vocalist, in jazz, classical, popular, and art music
Published sound science researcher
Teacher at Sydney Conservatorium of Music and USYD Architecture, Design, and Planning
Sound engineering experience for i) music audio recording and ii) experimental setups for acoustic science research
Experience in measuring and assessing acoustics of concert halls and lecture rooms
Proficiency in ProTools, Matlab, Ableton, Rhino, MAX MSP, Adobe suites, and Microsoft Office
Experience in metalwork, laser welding, and CNC machining
SMALL SELECTION OF PERFORMANCES
2024 Yirinda, Volume Festival, Art Gallery of New South Wales
2024 Smashed the Night Cap, Sydney Festival; performance with international guest artists
2022 MONAD, ensemble performance with Bae Il Dong, Dong-Won Kim, Carl Dewhurst, Eunhye Jeong, Yeajee Kim, Cocoon Hall, Seoul
2021 Diary of a Wombat, Sydney Opera House
2021 Of Deities and Demons with Sri Lankan Baliphonics and the Australian Art Orchestra, Melbourne Arts Centre
2020 Diary of a Wombat, Memphis Orpheum, Tennessee Performing Arts Center
2020 Mary Rapp quartet, Sydney International Women’s Jazz Fesitval
2019 Josh Kelly Ensemble, Melbourne International Jazz Fesitval
2019 Mary Rapp Sextet, Sydney International Women’s Jazz Fesitval
2019 Mary Rapp Trio album launch, SIMA, Seymour Centre
2018 Mary Rapp Quartet, Mornington Peninsular Jazz Festival
2018 Mary Rapp Trio, MONA residency
2018 Solo performance, ABC New Waves show
2018 Eleanor Dixon, Anya song cycle, Campbelltown Arts Centre development residency
2017 Diary of a Wombat, 9 month regional Australia and American tour
2017 Mary Rapp Septet Napology, Sydney International Women’s Jazz Festival
2017 Performance with Jon Rose, The Museum Goes Live, Carriagework
2016 Ensemble Offspring and Australian Art Orchestra, Exit Ceremonies, Melbourne Festival and Sydney Festival
2016 Dark MOFO, Bae Ill Dong and Simon Barker, MONA
SMALL SELECTION OF COMMISSIONS
2024 Ulster American, sound design, Ensemble Theatre Company
2023 Summer of Harold, sound design and composition, Ensemble Theatre Company
2022 Florence Broadhurst, composition for new opera, Blush Opera Company
2021 The Mind Ship Exodus, composition for art installation, audio design, Noor festival, Saudi Arabia
2021 Claudel, sound design, Sydney Opera House
2021 TALPR, sound design, Ensemble Theatre
2020 Night Parade of 100 Goblins, composition for movement piece and art installation, sound design, audio installation, Art Gallery of NSW, Sydney Festival
2019 Grounded, composition and sound design, National Theatre of Parramatta
2018 Space Junk, composition, sound design, audio installation, puppet show, Sydney Observatory
2017 The Girl/ The Woman, composition, sound design, National Theatre of Parramatta
2017 Zome Zome, film score, Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Berlin
2016 The Children of Yam, composition and audio design for art installation, Athr gallery, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
SELECTED DISCOGRAPHY
2021 Dyarubbin, Oonagh Sherrard
2021 Retroreflection and Waterfalls, improvised duets with Chris Abraham, Carl Dewhurst, Peter Farrar
2019 By ONe of thE night, trio with Carl Dewhurst and Simon Barker
2017 Open Chested, duets with traditional Korean percussionist Hannah Kim
2016 Vienna Dreaming, Matthew Keegan
2014 Sanitary Apocalypse, Wyatt Moss-Wellington
2013 Macquarie Sessions, Tony Gorman’s Monday Club
PUBLICATIONS
Rapp, M., Cabrera, D., Yadav., M., 2021, Effect of voice support level and spectrum on conversational speech, The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 150(4),
2635–2646.
Rapp, M., Cabrera, D., Lu, S., 2022, A polytrihedral dome for acoustic retroreflection, and its application to creative-arts practice-led research, Applied Acoustics, 195.
UNIVERSITY TEACHING
USYD, Media and Communications
Sessional lecturer and curriculum writer for the following postgraduate subjects
- Advanced Audio Work (2023 – present)
- Podcasting (2023 – present)
USYD, Architecture, Design, and Planning
Sessional Academic for the following courses
- Introduction to Architectural Science (tutor, 2019 – present)
- Audio and acoustics seminar (guest speaker, 2021)
- Master of Architectural Science, audio and acoustics (lecturer and tutor, 2019)
- Light and sound (tutor, 2019)
- Empirical thinking (tutor, 2019)
University of New England, Music
Composition Structure and Instrumentation (tutor and guest lecturer, 2024 – present)
Macquarie University, Media, Communications, Creative Arts, Language, and Literature
- Music, Sound, and the Moving Image (tutor, 2023 – present)
USYD, Conservatorium of Music
Sessional Academic for the following courses (2019 – present)
- Large Improvised Music Ensemble (curriculum writer and tutor, 2021 and 2022)
- Improvised singing (tutor, 2019)
National Institute of Dramatic Art
- Tutoring in sound design and composition (2022 – present)
- Mentoring students through final year productions
AWARDS AND GRANTS
2024 Sound NSW Recording and Promotion Grant, $44,760 AUD for new work documentation and promotion
2024 NSW Create, $4000 AUD for creative development
2022 The University of Sydney HDR Dissemination Prize, $500 AUD honorarium was awarded to select, high-achieving PhD candidates
2022 Korea Foundation Artist Research Fellowship, $16,000 AUD
2020 APRA art music fund, $5000 AUD for new work creation
2020 NSW Create, $5000 AUD for new work creation
2019 Potter Cultural Trust, $10,000 AUD for artist development
2019 Australia Council Art Project Grant, $12,000 AUD for work development
2018 Australian Postgraduate Award, consisting of $25,849 AUD per year for 3.5 years
2015 Anthony Lee Jazz Scholarship, university fee assistance
2015 Manhattan School of Music, full scholarship to Summer Jazz Workshop worth $10000 AUD
By ONe of thE night Sydney Morning Herald review
★★★★
You can stomp, jackbooted, into the dark places in your psyche, or you can do what Mary Rapp does, and flit between the shadows; observe the abyss without plunging in. Rapp, a jazz and free-improvising bassist/cellist and a composer for theatre, here brings
forth her inner singer-songwriter, albeit rejecting the idiom's accumulated cliches. Her songs neither soothe nor reassure, but enter the world with something of the blood, tears, terror and wonder of a newborn. Those with long memories may find her voice carrying some of the urgency, disquiet, brittleness and plaintiveness that Nico's did 50 years ago. It is a combination of qualities that inclines you to lean forward to catch the words, even as you are enthralled by the jittery soundscapes and accompaniment in which the songs variously boil and wallow. Rapp's cello) is joined by the chameleon-like guitar of Carl Dewhurst and the drumming of Simon Barker, whose work is almost as much akin to a dramatist's as a musician's, whether saying little or nothing, or radically intensifying a song's narrative, as if pushing it to the edge of that abyss. A startling debut. JOHN SHAND
By ONe of thE night Review From FBI radio station
Proficient on cello, double bass and vocals, Mary Rapp is one of the great musical talents to emerge from Sydney's music scene in the last few years. Her solo performances with cello & vocals (and no effects or amplification) are riveting, but here she's joined by two veteran improvisers from Sydney, guitarist Carl Dewhurst and Simon Barker, creating improvised songs recorded live by Richard Belkner at Free Energy Device Studios in Camperdown, Sydney. Any free jazz freakout tendencies are undercut by drones, repeating patterns and Rapp's raw, emotive vocals. Her cello, like Arthur Russell's, finds expression through scratchy harshness as much as melody, and a kind of expressionism that doesn't necessarily care for demonstrative virtuosity. In any case, it's an extraordinary collection of songs. Utility Fog
“... electrify one's central nervous system on first listening” Sydney Morning Herald
“Rapp had an instinct for being taciturn and pithy; for making the music gossamer light or adding phenomenal weight and vigour, using extraordinarily few notes” Sydney Morning Herald
“Mary Rapp creates the freshest, most intriguing and joyful music making I've experienced in years” Cameron Undy, musician and creator /owner of 505 Jazz Club
“Mary is exactly the kind of musician we are on the look out for, she can play heavy notated music, create startling improvisations and is interested in everything.” Peter Knight, Creative Director of Australian Art Orchestra
“Mary Rapp is one of the most exciting and emerging talents in Australia. I haven't in over 40 years of international experience come across a musician of Mary's caliber.” Jon Rose