Based in Melbourne, Australia, Lewis Ingham (he/him) is a composer primarily working within the field of notated acoustic music. Lewis' compositions have been performed across Australia and the USA, with recent highlights including works for the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Ensemble Offspring, Momentum Ensemble (Australian Youth Orchestra), and Hypercube (USA).
Lewis’ compositional voice is steeped in a modernist aesthetic with a keenness for exploring instrumental colour and unique instrumental groupings; interweaving solo and ensemble gestures; and creating resonant harmony drawing upon diverse influences from Olivier Messiaen to McCoy Tyner. His recent musical output has focussed on themes of ecology and climate change, often incorporating climate data into the compositional processes of his texturally and timbrally rich compositions. Lewis has been noted for his sensitivity towards orchestration in works for both large and small ensembles, often utilising instrumental colour and timbre as a key part of his conceptually-driven composing.
Since 2022, Lewis has been engaged in PhD research in composition at the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music (University of Melbourne) under the tutelage of Elliott Gyger. His research explores the ways in which he uses data pertaining to climate change to influence compositional process and design; and has involved several compositions for small and large ensembles, culminating in a large-scale solo piano work for Danaë Killian to be performed in the second half of 2023. As an early-career artist, Lewis has participated in many rewarding local and international composer programs, including: Australian Youth Orchestra Composition Program (2021), Hypercube's (USA) Cubelab Composition Program (2021), Melbourne Symphony Orchestra’s Cybec 21st Century Young Composer Program (2019/20), Ensemble Offspring’s Hatched Academy (2019), and the Charlotte New Music Festival (USA) (2017). His composing has been further recognised through winning the Inaugural Solo Performer Commissioning Competition (Melbourne Composers’ League, 2021), and being appointed the Grainger Museum Composer-in-Residence (2018).
Within the academic environment, Lewis has proven himself highly adept as a tutor and lecturer in music theory, orchestration, and composition. He works as a freelance tutor and lecturer at both public and private universities, as well as providing private tuition in theory and composition. Outside of his teaching work, Lewis has provided copyist/engraving services for a number of composers, preparing scores and parts for many of Australia’s leading orchestras and ensembles.
Lewis lives and composes on the lands of the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung and Bunurong peoples of the Kulin Nation, and pays respects to their Elders, past, present, and emerging.