About Alex
An emerging artist with a passion for the power of story telling through song, Alex Owens (they/them) is quietly becoming a fresh voice in operatic performance and art song in Naarm (Melbourne). Alex has featured in operatic and oratorio performances with organisations including Victorian Opera, the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and the Royal Melbourne Philharmonic, and is particularly interested in contemporary works, recital curation and reconnecting canon works to modern experiences.
With a shared passion for art song, Alex and pianist Lily Begg have curated and performed recitals across Naarm and regional Victoria. Dedicated to consort performance, Alex is a founding member of Divisi Chamber Singers, is an associate artist with the Consort of Melbourne, and also performs with Astra Chamber Music Society and Polyphonic Voices, as well as in Anglican and Uniting parishes across Naarm.
Alex is an Emerging Artist with The Song Company in 2024, featured as a Young Songmaker with Songmakers Australia (2021-22), was Elyane Laussade’s Rising Star in her 2022 concert series, and was a scholar with Opera Scholars Australia in 2018. They were a participant in the inaugural Melbourne International Festival of Lieder and Art Song, and have received masterclasses and coaching from Graham Johnson, Lynne Dawson, John Bolton Wood, Andrew Sinclair, Yvonne Kenny and Stephen Varcoe. They completed a Bachelor of Music (2020) and Honours (2022) degrees at the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music with Dr Stephen Grant, and currently study with Roger Howell.
Vocal Performance
Image from 2023 performance of Venus and Adonis
Kew Philharmonic Choirs (Melbourne)
Music Composition and Arrangement
Alex’s love of storytelling through music has naturally found a second home in their original works. Their art song Fragen (2017) was given its professional premiere by Elisabeth Campbell, supported by the Lieder Society of Melbourne. They won the VCAA Margaret Schofield Scholarship (2017) for their orchestral setting of Eichendorff's 'Waldesgespräch', and the Music Society of Victoria's David Henkels Composition Award (2017) for 'some things are broken...". Alex has been commissioned by the Australian Chamber Choir ('The Gate of the Year', 2024), twice by the University of Melbourne ('Animal Stew', 2019; and 'Underneath these permanent stars', 2018), and Arts Centre Melbourne for their 5x5x5 commissions ('I have...', with text by Amelia Evans, 2019).
Editing and Transposition
The partner of choice for Melbourne’s tertiary singing students, Alex continues to deliver on a reputation of speedy and accurate transpositions, transcriptions, realisations and new editions for performing and academic musicians. They have had typesetting services commissioned for PhD projects by Dr. Linda Barcan and Dr. Jody Heald, and continues to work closely with Melbourne Conservatorium of Music staff to deliver high quality scores as needed. Services on offer include music editing, typesetting, digitising, parts preparation, accompaniment and figure realisation, transposition and audio transcription.
Writing About Music
During daytime hours, Alex can be found around the Australian National Academy of Music, where they are currently the Music Librarian (Robert Salter Foundation Library). Using a deep knowledge of repertoire and a generous story-telling character, their program notes have been described as “significant and most erudite” (Classic Melbourne, 2024).
Selected Vocal Credits
Manfred, Heggie: Two Remain, 2024 (Nightingale Opera USA)
Joe, Heggie: Two Remain, 2024 (Nightingale Opera Australia)
Bass soloist, Schubert: Mass in G, 2024 (Royal Melbourne Philharmonic)
Baritone soloist, Marsalis: All Rise, 2023 (Melbourne Symphony Orchestra)
Adonis, Blow: Venus and Adonis, 2023 (Kew Philharmonic Choirs)
Bass soloist, Bach: St. John Passion, 2023 (Polyphonic Voices)
Thomas (originated), Fidge: The Eisteddfod, 2023 (independent)
Baritone soloist, Fauré Requiem, 2022 (Australian Chamber Choir)
Chorus, Wagner: Parsifal, 2019 (Victorian Opera)
Thierry, Poulenc: Dialogues des Carmélites, 2018 (The University of Melbourne)
St Placide, Thomson: Four Saints in Three Acts, 2016 (Victorian Opera)