Interviews, articles, and news

Find out more on my thoughts about music and composition

The Australian: Composing a Future Beyond Her Own Love of Music

Composer Elizabeth Younan, one of 16 Australians to have won a 2024 General Sir John Monash scholarship for overseas postgraduate study, takes on this new challenge backed by a list of distinguished achievements. The John Monash Scholarships are postgraduate scholarships awarded to outstanding Australians with leadership potential who wish to study overseas. The John Monash Scholarships are amongst the most important postgraduate scholarships currently available in Australia.

The General Sir John Monash Foundation: The 2024 Presentation Ceremony

The General Sir John Monash Foundation is proud to announce the presentation of the 2024 Scholarships at a prestigious ceremony at Government House in Canberra. This event marks the culmination of an exhaustive selection process that concluded at the end of last year. Sixteen outstanding Australians are being supported to study overseas in a broad range of fields including medicine, health, the arts, engineering, business, law, mathematics, science and Indigenous affairs.

Limelight Review: Croissants & Whiskey (Leaps and Bounds Festival)

“Happily, we were left with an exceptional world premiere from Elizabeth Younan, The Fertile Crescent… what resulted was a thrilling Shostakovich-esque trio of dances, that were not only rhythmically electrifying, but also playfully orchestrated and made insightful use of the quartet’s textures. I hope this is the beginning of much more new work for Croissants & Whiskey.”

Inside the Musician: Elizabeth Younan “On Process and Communication”

Read more on my thoughts about the compositional process, and what it was like to work with Croissants & Whiskey!

Loudmouth Review: The Fertile Crescent

“There is an exuberant, playful seriousness to The Fertile Crescent that is a credit to both the composer and performers. One senses that Younan approached this commission with a spirit of play and fun that is matched by the instrumentalists… I look forward to observing Younan’s career continue to develop and to more genre-hopping antics from Croissants & Whiskey.”

Classic Australia: Elizabeth Younan

The Fertile Crescent fuses three Middle Eastern dances with the European Baroque, in a suite of pieces which draws on Elizabeth's own Lebanese heritage and her education in the Western Classical tradition. 

Listen to the world premiere of this exciting new piece, and to the composer explain how she found her own voice between two strong musical traditions.

In Concordance with Younan

Multi award-winning composer Elizabeth Younan is the 2021- 2022 Layton Emerging Composer Fellow. Elizabeth is in the final stages of completing her new score Concord Concertino which will be recorded and filmed in May 2022, and showcased at the International Alliance of Women in Music conference in June. We recently interviewed Elizabeth about her exciting new work.

Young Australian composer featured on GRAMMY-winning album

Just one year out of university, Australian composer Elizabeth Younan has won a GRAMMY. Sort of.
By Matthew Lorenzon

Gen Next: 30 Brilliant Young Musicians Making Their Mark

After much discussion, we have identified the 30 instrumentalists, composers, conductors and singers who are not only seriously talented but also have that special ‘x’ factor. How will their careers develop? Only time will tell, but this is our pick of the stars of tomorrow.
By Limelight

Curtis Institute of Music 2021 Graduation Speech

I was honoured to be chosen by faculty to be one of two graduating speakers for the Curtis Institute of Music class of 2021.

Limelight: Elizabeth Younan wins 2021 Layton Emerging Composer Fellowship

The young composer, who graduates from Curtis this month, wins $10,000 of commission money.
By Clive Paget

Arco Collaborative

Composer David Serkin Ludwig introduces young composer Elizabeth Younan.

Arco Collaborative

Elizabeth Younan speaks about her new work for violinist Jennifer Koh, “…your heart dreams of spring.”

Yale’s Oral History of American Music

OHAM interviewer and composer Samantha Wolf speaks with Australian-Lebanese composer Elizabeth Younan. Younan describes her outlook during the pandemic, including positive takeaways and a renewed sense of purpose.

MOMENTUM III Sue W COVID-19 Special Commission winners

Sydney Conservatorium of Music and the Australian Music Centre announce Anne Cawrse, Nicole Murphy, Elizabeth Younan as the winners of the three MOMENTUM III - Sue W COVID-19 Special Commissions.

Musica Viva announces its 2020 season

“I think she (Elizabeth) has enormous potential,” Vine says. “She’s still only in her mid-20s, and this is a second quartet.”
By Angus McPherson

2018 Huntington Estate Music Festival

“(Elizabeth) has an utterly unique and intimate relationship with her melodic material that gives extraordinary strength to the music, and the concept of interweaving melodic strands into a monolithic musical fabric is a perfect way for her to tackle the composer’s ultimate Olympic challenge, the string quartet” (Carl Vine).
By Angus McPherson

Limelight: Rising Star

With a commission from Musica Viva under her belt and now bound for the Curtis Institute of Music, the young composer discusses her musical tenets, the influence of mentor Carl Vine, and The Wiggles.
By Justine Nguyen

Sydney Morning Herald: Sydney student the first Australian accepted to prestigious US music program

Ivy League universities such as Harvard and Yale might be difficult for Australian students to get into, but they are nowhere near as difficult as Philadelphia's Curtis Institute of Music, one of the most selective colleges in the world. But Elizabeth Younan, 24, has defied the odds to become the first Australian admitted into Curtis’ prestigious postgraduate program for composers.
By Justine Landis Hanley

Limelight: Musica Viva 2018 International Concert Season announcement

“This is a young composer called Elizabeth Younan, she’s just finishing her Masters at Sydney Conservatorium. She’s actually a student of mine, and I think that she has a massive future, so this is really going to be a calling card for her, working with Joyce (Yang). Two young, talented women working together – it’s very exciting” (Carl Vine).
By Angus McPherson

Musica Viva: 2018 International Concert Season

Ahead of composing her commissioned piece for Joyce Yang's Australian tour, composer Elizabeth Younan was flown to New Zealand by Musica Viva to meet with Joyce for the first time.

Musica Viva: International Women’s Day

Composer Elizabeth Younan sat down with Musica Viva to celebrate International Women's Day to discuss practical ways that music lovers can help support emerging female composers.

Musica Viva: 2018 International Concert Season

Musica Viva sat down with emerging composer Elizabeth Younan to talk about what inspired her when composing her piece for Joyce Yang as a part of the 2018 Musica Viva International Concert season, and discusses her female role models.

Fine Music 102.5: Young Composer Award

The winner of the 102.5 FM Young Composer Award for 2016 is Sydney Conservatorium of Music student Elizabeth Younan, for her new work, Clarinet Concerto.

Musica Viva Festival

Composer Elizabeth Younan talks about her woodwind quintet, 'Shoreditch Grind', ahead of its performance at the 2017 Musica Viva Festival.

Cut Common: National Women Composers’ Development Program

Four emerging composers at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music have been selected for the first National Women Composers’ Development Program.
By Samuel Cottell

Sydney Morning Herald: Anne Boyd, Moya Henderson, Claire Edwardes back scheme for women composers

University of Sydney music students – Elizabeth Younan, Natalie Nicolas, Clare Johnston, and Ella Macens – have been selected to take part in the conservatorium's first national women composers development program.
By Nick Galvin

Broadly

Since the dawn of time, women have been told they shouldn't compose because it's "unfeminine". A new program out of Sydney is changing that, one talented female composer at a time.
By Naomi Russo

ABC Classic FM: New Waves Podcast — Michael Kieran Harvey Jean Bogan Recital

Michael Kieran Harvey plays prize-winning works by fellow Tasmanian Scott McIntyre, and by emerging composer Elizabeth Younan, along with a selection of other piano music from Tasmanian composers.
By Stephen Adams