“Dillon’s skill at bringing highly complex thoughts through classical music, opera and philosophy so seamlessly together is ingenious.”
“Kym Dillon’s ‘Robbie’s Daydream’ ... was virtuosic, grippingly emotive and perfectly paced ... this work deserves many more performances, and proves Dillon as a skilled composer to keep an eye on”
“the highlight of the afternoon was Melbourne-based composer Kym Dillon’s ‘It Was’ ... allowing [the singers]
to explore emotions, text and the exciting but challenging music with guts and aplomb ... a deeply enjoyable romp through Dickens’ well-loved words”
Kym Alexandra Dillon is an award-winning composer, pianist, and presenter currently based in Melbourne and Geelong. She is continuously engaged across a broad spectrum of genres and contexts, from contemporary classical composition, orchestration and arranging, through to jazz performance, accompanying, community choir leading and public speaking about music.
She completed a Bachelor of Music Performance Honours in composition at the Victorian College of the Arts in 2012, studying under such teachers as Anthony Lyons, Christine McCombe, Mark Pollard, and John McCaughey. She was awarded the 'Beleura Sir George Tallis Award' from the 'Friends of the VCA' for her work in the course in 2009; and the 'Beleura John Tallis Award' in 2010. She composed and performed two original jazz works for the VCA Improvisation Series in 2009, for which her ensemble won the 'Athanaeum Prize’. In 2023 she completed her Masters of Composition at the University of Melbourne, under supervisors Elliott Gyger and Melody Eötvös, receiving first class honours. While undertaking this course she was awarded the ‘Completion scholarship’ enabling her to stage a performance of her large-scale song cycle Diapsalmata: Portrait of a Self. She was also awarded the the Melbourne Recital Centre/Melbourne Conservatorium of Music Composition Award for 2024.
As a composer Kym has had original works commissioned by such groups as the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Astra Chamber Music Society, Musica Viva, Australian Youth Orchestra, HOMOPHONIC, Melbourne Recital Centre, Forest Collective, and Inventi Ensemble; and her music has been performed in Australia, Canada, the U.K., North America, Romania and Italy. Her work is often inspired by reflections on the nature of imagination and creation — what it means to create and what our creative compulsion says about us. In 2022 she was named the inaugural ‘Continuo Composer’ by the Continuo Commissioning Circle, enabling her to compose a new, extensive work for the exciting prog-baroque ensemble Croissants & Whiskey.
In 2022 Kym premiered her largest work to date, the song cycle Diapsalmata: Portrait of a Self, with baritone Stephen Marsh and Forest Collective, a piece which was nominated as a finalist for the prestigious ‘Work of the Year - Large Ensemble’ category in the national APRA-AMCOS Art Music Awards 2023, alongside works by Liza Lim and Paul Dean. The piece sets a collection of passages from philosopher Søren Kierkegaard to tell Kym’s own story of unearthing identity and personhood. In reviewing the concert, Myron May from mymelbournearts.com wrote that “Dillon’s skill at bringing highly complex thoughts through classical music, opera and philosophy so seamlessly together is ingenious.”
As a pianist Kym often performs in her own chamber works, such as her Sonata for Piano (2019), and Sonata for Flute and Piano (2021), but also regularly in jazz/contemporary contexts. At 2022’s National Liederfest she was awarded ‘best accompanist in the finals’ for her work accompanying soprano Miriam Whiting-Reilly. She has toured with artists such as Simon Gleeson and Natalie O’Donnell, Gorgi Coghlan, Ian Stenlake, Anna-Lee Robertson, and The Voice season 2 winner Harrison Craig. In 2015 she performed on piano as part of the Melbourne Comedy Festival in the cabaret show Larry Paradiseo and the Fabulous Dame Farrar. She also regularly performs on piano with the Georgia Brooks Swingtet, a group that specialises in revitalising classic swing-era jazz tunes and has performed widely including at the Melbourne International Jazz Festival.
Kym is also a conductor for the charity Creativity Australia’s ‘With One Voice’ program, which seeks to connect people from different walks of life through community singing. As part of this role she conducts two large choirs each week, having led them to perform at venues such as the Melbourne Town Hall, Melbourne Recital Centre, and the Monash carols in Jells Park. Her work with these choirs has been featured multiple times on Australian television including the ABC, such as in this feature article, and Channel Nine.
Kym loves deepening the general public’s enjoyment and engagement with classical/art music, and has presented multiple pre-concert talks for concerts by the Australian Chamber Orchestra, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and Orchestra Victoria. She has also worked as a guest presenter on ABC Classic’s Night Music program.