Born in Canberra Australia, Leah Curtis graduated from the University of New South Wales Sydney in Music studying composition and contemporary flute under the guidance of Laura Chislett and Kathleen Gallagher.
Her first composing opportunities were in high school writing scores for the Globe Centre of Australia's National Shakespeare Competition (THE TEMPEST and MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING). From these scores, and at 17, she was announced as Young Shakespearean Artist of the Year and sent on a study tour of London's Globe Theatre and Stratford-Upon-Avon's Royal Shakespeare Company. The exposure to world-class practitioners and stories in the UK fuelled her strong desire to establish a career in collaborative projects as a composer.
On return she commenced an undergraduate music degree at UNSW, and while there, Curtis completed 6 months at the University of Illinois where she continued her studies in composition under Guy Garnett, flute under Alexander Murray and commenced training in instrumental conducting with Don Moses.
On returning to Sydney, and keen to understand musical collaboration and dramaturgy, she was accepted in to the Australian Film Television and Radio School's composition program which was in its infancy. She successfully completed the short program and was immediately offered the Jerry Goldsmith Film Scoring Fellowship to attend UCLA. She left from Sydney for an intensive period of creative growth in Los Angeles. She immersed herself in the world of cinema, and delved into the highly technical aspects of scoring and conducting to picture. Projects during this time included orchestration, engraving and arranging work for significant composers, and internships on large US productions as she grasped the process of this highly collaborative work.
She also started to build her own list of credits, taking the creative music lead with collaborators (filmmakers, contemporary musicians and dancers). During this time she composed the orchestral AUSTRALIA : FACING SOUTH commissioned by the Australia Council's Young and Emerging Artist program (bUzz), premiering at the National Gallery of Australia and recorded by the Prague Studio Symphony. This work was inspired by her desire to understand her place as an Australian artist working internationally, and what that contribution would be, and understanding the role of artist as cultural interpreter - including that of her own country of origin.
In 2006, Curtis was one of 15 Australians to receive a Fulbright Postgraduate Award. She developed a program that would allow connection between Australian and American projects, completing an MA Hons at AFTRS while spending an intensive 12 months composing and conducting at USC's highly regarded Thronton School of Music, and directing a filmed interview series focusing on creative collaboration: DIRECTING THE MUSIC.
During this time she attended the Aspen Music Festival Composition Program on a Schumann Fellowship where she studied under Pulitzer Prize and Oscar Winner John Corigliano. She composed a major orchestral work and a piece for the Aspen Contemporary Ensemble under Sydney Hodkinson.
In the last few years she has given lectures and workshops on a variety of topics for the Oberlin Conservatory, The Queensland Conservatorium of Music, San Diego Filmmakers, The Australian Film Television and Radio School and the University of New South Wales, among others.
In contemporary cinema she has worked with directors Fawaz Al-Matrouk (Kuwait/Canada), Damien Power (Australia) Adam Habib (USA), Sean Byrne (Australia), Steve McGregor (Australia) and Digvijay Singh (India) among others. She enjoys the challenges and rewards of international collaborations.
Her many years studying contemporary performance has had a significant impact on her composition, acutely aware of the performers experience, and the playing techniques available.
Her work has received many awards and nominations, including most recently a Best Original Score Nomination and the Best World Music Award at the Hollywood Music Awards for her score for the US/Kuwaiti war drama TO REST IN PEACE.
Her music has been performed by a diverse range of world-class ensembles and is used in cinema, dance, theatre and is broadcast on radio internationally.
